A Hundred Winks of Sunshine
by Tsume Yuki
Summary: In which Bella is confident, cheerful and striving for a happy (second) life. Cullen Clan, meet little Miss Positivity. (Self Insert)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"That's it, Bells."

Nose scrunched up and tiny hands poking out from beneath rolled up coat-sleeves, Isabella Swan hefts her prized catch into the air, triumphant grin all but smeared across her face. It's an adorable expression, all big brown eyes and dimpled cheeks. Charlie's heart swells at the picture she makes. His darling little girl laughs, pudgy fingers valiantly struggling to keep hold of the still flopping fish. She counts down from five to one and then the fish is away, a single splash of lake water the only evidence of its time with them.

"See! I caught that one all on my own," she croons, palms slick from grasping at scales, cheeks flushed with excitement. He's lucky really. How many other men can say their daughters are just so full of life, so willing to try anything and everything? Isabella is smart too. Smart, healthy, and happy. He cannot possibly ask for anything more. That his darling little girl enjoys coming fishing with him is just one big bonus.

"I saw, Bells. Well done."

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* * *

.

Being reborn again isn't so bad. True this time the parents are divorced, true there's no siblings... but she's loved. She wanted. She's been treasured. In all honesty, she couldn't have asked for anything more to experience in this life. Though undoubtedly she confused the hell out of her Mom and Dad in those first toddling years when she'd spoken with a British accent.

Fiddling with the earphones that hang mute between her fingers, Isabella 'Bella' Swan shifts eagerly from foot to foot, all but brimming with excitement at seeing her father again. Though she's been coming to Forks every year for summer (sunny days spent fishing or on the Reservation with Jacob and Billy, rainy days spent playing board games or splashing in backyard puddles), the concept of actually living with her father for a few years is exciting. She doesn't begrudge her mother having some newly-wed time with Phil. The man's good for her, treats her like the absentminded queen she is; Bella approves. Being able to truly set down some roots in Forks is going to be an experience too, maybe make some friends outside of Jake. Not that there's anything wrong with Jake, but Jake has other friends and she can't rely on him to fill her socialisation quota. Him and Charlie, who is undoubtedly ecstatic to have her educated-in-cooking self occupying his kitchen for the undetermined future. Man can't cook worth a damn, at that point it was learn or live off takeaway.

"Bells?"

"Yesss, you're here!" Springing into action, Bella jars her suitcase from the curb, striding forwards before discarding the luggage handle immediately. Charlie barely has time to open his arms before she's leaping into them, engulfed in the safe scent of home away from home. Or home II. Additional home.

"Missed me, Bells?"

"Always, Dad. You missed my cooking?"

"Oh yeah, the whole reason I wanted you up here," the gruff is light and Bella smiles into the flannel shirt that's itching her cheek. There's one more moment in which see just presses her face that little bit further into Charlie's chest, taken back to the days of her childhood; days of fishing trips and hours of playing monopoly with rain slashing against the window.

"You need to wash this shirt, I can smell the fishing trip on you."

.

Settling back into life in Forks is far from difficult. Her bedroom is the same as she'd left it last year, barring the few things she'd had shipped up from Phoenix. A jewellery box filled with all sorts of knick-knacks (ranging from genuine jewellery to questionable stones in various pretty shades), several boxes of clothing, the yoga mat and ball Renee had given up on years ago and Bella had swiftly claimed as her own. A new addition to the house is the beaten up, rusted red truck that now commands half the drive. Her truck, affectionately dubbed 'Ol' Red'. Jacob had laughed when he'd brought the beast over from the Res, eagerly sharing the better tales of his past year with her. She'll wring the more embarrassing tidbits from Billy at some point in the future.

Smearing a healthy amount of marmalade across the surface of her toast, Bella jams the bread into her mouth, leaning by the corner counter. Her hair's still up in a ponytail from a morning run, something Charlie'd scoffed at with a warm smile. Flavour bursts across her tongue as she wrestles the bobble free, smoothing done the multitude of creases in the 'one-size bigger than needs be' jumper she'd thrown on for the day. It's a worn thing, something Charlie'd bought her last year during her summer visit. Back then it'd been even bigger on her. There'd been a flustered smile of pleasure on her Dad's face upon sighting the jumper once again in use, it's the whole reason Bella'd put it on, after all. Though the cartoon goldfish in the police car motif is a little weird, at least it's a potential talking point for her peers. Where he'd even managed to purchase such a thing, however, Bella has no clue.

Popping the last of bit of toast into her mouth, Bella scoops up her schoolbag, slinging the first strap over her shoulder and wiggling to acquire the other.

"Alright there, Bells?"

"I'm good," she grunts, cooing victoriously when the arm she's got half contorted around her back finally finds the second strap. Backpack in place, Bella rolls her shoulders and makes for the door, bouncing nervously along. "See you later tonight, Dad. Have a nice day!" She doesn't quite hear his reply, pulling open the door with a little too much enthusiasm. The sky's grey, an inverted valley of clouds stretching out from horizon to horizon. No sun in sight. Not the bright and brilliant day she'd wanted for her first trip to school, but she'll make do. Second chance at life, this time she's going to grab it by the horns and crack on. If living a second time has taught her anything, it's to appreciate every damn little thing, to reveal in each experience and treasure every relationship. What's the point in getting moody over things she can't change? It could have been worse, she could have been born in some struggling third world country in which women are second class citizens.

Pumped for the day, Bella wretches open Ol' Red's door, leaping up into the driver's seat and shucking off her bag to rest in the passenger's footwell. The whole cab reeks of tobacco and scent of Jacob's childhood it may be, but she sure as hell isn't going to be turning up for school smelling like she smokes forty a day. The windows screech in disagreement as she goes about winding them down, the handle stiff and stubborn. Undoubtedly, it will take more than one drive with the window open to air the whole truck, but Bella can totally deal with the wind whistling in her ear.

"Right. New school, new people, new life here. I can handle this. Worse comes to worse, it's only a few years, but there's going to be someone there that'll like me. Statistically, there has to be." Prep talk done, Bella forced Ol' Red to take his first shuddering breath under her command and shoved the gearstick into first. "Here we go."

.

Fork High School is a hell of a lot smaller than what she's used to.

Chewing on the abused skin of her lip, Bella considers the building before her with both her hands wrapped tight around her backpack's straps. There's no shorts here, it's not something that's possible in Washington temperatures; what little tan she had managed to coax onto her legs is going to be long gone by the end of the week. Phoenix had been crowded, lively in a way that escapes this place. Oh sure there are teenaged about, but there's little drama. This is just school to them, a place to go and serve a few hours a day in order to edge that little bit closer to freedom. Bella sure as hell isn't going to be like that. She's going to enjoy every damn moment of her stay, she's going to soak up all the knowledge she can, going to enjoy the vast array of experiences that come with being part of a small school. Hell, she might even be able to put names to half the faces she sees by the end of the week.

Sucking in one more fortifying breath, Bella starts across the car park, heading for the reception with her hands still tight on bag straps. A few students stare, clicking into the fact she's unfamiliar, and Bella makes sure to smile at them, going so far as to offer a little wave of greeting that's more often than not tentatively returned. They probably have no idea what to make of her, Bella muses with a little grin. She's a new face, but she's also not coming off as nervous. But really, once you've lived one life, coming back to school... well, there's worse things in the world than not being liked by everybody, worse things than not fitting into a small town.

She'll be fine, no matter how the cookie crumbles.

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* * *

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Jessica has no idea what to make of Isabella 'call me Bella' Swan. She's always been certain she's one of the most confident girls in their school, it's not a mindset she's ever thought would be threatened before. But here comes the pretty brunette from out of town, capturing everyone's attention so effortlessly that Jessica can feel the green eyed monster rearing it's ugly head. She's not a stupid girl; Jessica is well aware she can get jealous. She's aware of just how quickly she can get envious too. But, it's not really something she wants to change. What's the point? It's a small town, whatever someone has over her will fade into obscurity as life continues onwards.

It doesn't mean she won't latch onto Isabella Swan and ride in the wake of her popularity as the new girl while she can. Soon enough, Bella will become a permanent resident in Forks and all the hullabaloo will disappear.

Yet, if there's one stable fixture, it is the utter disinterest the Cullen Clan show, even with the new girl. Bella might be pretty and different, but even she can't attract their attention. Just like the rest of school, lowly mortals that they are.

Sneaking a peek at Edward Cullen from beneath her lashes, Jessica feels her cheeks flush and her mouth dry. Because really, the things she's like to do to that boy... she'd climb him like a tree. And that'd be just the opening act.

"Well, aren't you gonna ask?"

Bella blinks (huge doe-like eyes, no wonder Mike's perked up and been paying her some attention, the bitch) head cocking to a side and sandwich frozen halfway into her mouth. Yeah, Jessica can admit that's cute, she'll have to try that one herself.

"Ask what, Jessica?" Bella speaks only after she has removed the food from her mouth, genuine confusion marring her features. Urgh, it's difficult to dislike her when the girl is just so... open and accepting. She's listened to every word Jessica's said, enquired about her interests; Bella Swan comes off as a genuinely good person. It has to be an act, surely. No one is that happy go lucky.

"About the Cullens, of course."

"Cullens?" There's... there's a twinge of familiarity to Bella's confused parroting and it has Jessica pausing. There's no way that word of the supermodel worthy family has spread outside of Forks. There'd be talents scouts for all sorts of shiny careers crawling about the town if that were the case. Bella flicks her eyes in the direction of the table that must not be approached and Jessica is treated to the same surprised awe that spreads across everybody's face when they first see the Cullens.

"Oh, okay. They're very pretty."

"Pretty!?" Jessica repeats in disbelief, staring hard at Bella until the girl finally stops paying attention to her dinner and meets her gaze.

"Well, yes. I can't exactly comment on their personality, given I haven't spoken to any of them yet-"

"Bella! You don't speak to them. You admire from afar, dreaming longingly of the day they'll swoop in and sweep you up-"

"Okay, I think I get it," Bella chuckles, a grape pinched between her forefinger and thumb. She flicks it up, making a valiant attempt to catch it between her teeth but she's met with only failure. The grape bounces off her chin instead, rolling back onto the table and the weirdest girl Jessica has ever met just laughs, plucking up another grape to try again. Why the hell she'd try again when she just embarrassed herself by utterly failing, Jessica has no clue. This time she manages it, indulging in a little fist pump that is absolutely not adorable in any shape or form. Not at all.

"Anyway," Jessica stresses, eager to get things back on track, "they're all adopted by Carlisle Cullen -he's a doctor at the local hospital- because his wife can't have kids." She waits for the scandalised interest... but it doesn't come. Bella Swan just continues looking at her, waiting for her to continue. "But get this, Rosalie and Emmett are together. Like, as a couple. And they live together!"

"And the other three?" Finally! A mote of interest!

"They're all single! Alice is the short pixie one, Jasper's a senior, the one with blond hair. And! And then there's Edward. He's a junior like me." Jessica near swoons as she finishes up, only just managing to drag her eyes from the copper haired god across the room to focus on Bella and her amused smile.

"Well good for them. I'm sure they'll make someone happy someday." Huh?

Snapping back to attention, Jessica eyes the new girl suspiciously but, but she can't see the act, can't see any faults. It's almost as if Bella Swan genuinely doesn't care about the chance (however small) of bagging a Cullen for herself.

She must be staring more than's polite, for Bella pops the last grape into her mouth and grins at her.

"I'm not going to say I'm not interested, but I'm also... not bothered, if that makes sense? I want to be happy, so I'm not going to get hung up in a teenage drama of 'woe, does he like me or doesn't he?'." She shrugs, clicking the lid of the empty plastic container shut. "If it happens, it happens. If not, there's plenary of fish in the sea out there... I'm sure I'll reel one in somehow."

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* * *

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There's something achingly familiar about this; the same kind of sensation that nestled deep into your bones and hibernates for the winter, filling your body with discomfort.

Muscles tense, Bella flicks another cautious look at the (admittedly very attractive) teen sitting beside her. He's on edge himself, forearms braced tight with hands out of sight beneath their work bench. Mentally, Bella crosses him off as a potential romantic interest. Or even as a friend, really. She's pretty certain he hasn't even breathed once since she pulled up a chair beside him. Maybe she'll be able to play the social anxiety card and wiggle out of this seat to another one? If not, well Bella's not going to transfer out of biology so Edward Cullen (that rings a bell, why the hell does that name ring a bell?) is just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. Bella jolts when her assigned partner suddenly lets out a pained groan, rising from his chair and exiting the classroom without a word, to the stunned disbelief of everyone present. Bella stares gormlessly at the door as it swings shut before turning bewildered eyes on the equally stunned teacher.

Not much learning happens with the rampant discussion that overtakes the biology class after that little display.

Covertly sniffing at her jumper (and confirming once again it is utterly free of odour de fishing trip), Bella waves goodbye to Jessica and her little group of friends, eagerly clambering into Ol' Red and dumping her bag on the passenger seat. Notebooks and pens spill out from the open top but she's far too focused to care right now. Unable to secure the promise of a different seat, Bella's heading straight to the closest perfume retailer at the first opportunity. That or she's going to have an attempt at mixing her own via dodgy YouTube videos. Who knows, maybe she'll managed some natural-sourced wonder and make millions. Snorting, the brunette shifts Ol' Red into reverse, even as her foot stills before touching the pedals.

The whole Cullen Clan are gathered in the car-park, minus he of the sensitive nose. The blonde girl is towering over short and spunky and Bella tenses up, one hand going for the door-handle. Just because they live together (and oh, something is really tugging at the back of her mind there) doesn't mean they have to get along. The pixie one (Alice, was it?) hastily says something to the blonde and suddenly they're both looking her way, one with a fierce scowl and the other with an overly cheerful grin. Blinking, Bella slowly lifts one hand, giving a little wave to the two with a smile, all the while trying to silently convey to Alice Cullen that if something's going down, she won't be up against family on her own. From the impossible widening of her smile, Bella can almost pretend that her fellow junior got the message, loud and clear. When the two girls loop their arms together, blondie rolling her eyes with a fond smile that is unquestionably for Alice alone, Bella finally shifts the truck into gear. Hell, maybe she's made a new friend there. If odd stare-outs across the carpark can even count as true social interaction.

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* * *

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Emmett Cullen peers through the thick trees that pepper across the entirety of Forks, watching the poor human who was unlucky enough to be a vampire's singer. Or, was it lucky enough to be Edward's singer? Oh boy, does he remember his own singers. It hadn't so much falling of the bandwagon as it'd been an enthusiastic leap. But no, he needs to stop thinking on that because otherwise he's gonna have to go feed. Again.

With eyes as golden as possible (and stomach sloshing with what is perhaps just a little too much animal blood, but better safe than sorry when she's caught Edward's attention so), Emmett tracks the daughter of the police chief as she crosses her backyard. A tiny waif of a girl, though she's clearly not scared of getting down and dirty. Folding his arms, Emmett crouches lower on the tree branch, tracking the girl's progress as she scales one of the larger trees in the backyard. She's got a thick piece of rope tied tight around her waist, the excess length trailing back to Earth and wiggling as she climbs. It's only when she loops it around one of the sturdy limbs branching off from the trunk that Emmett clicks what she's doing. It's been a while since he saw a human make an old fashioned swing. Hell, it's been a while since anyone in the family made an old fashioned swing. When you can run faster than a car, that kind of thing doesn't hold the same appeal as it once did.

The sun continues it's steady march down to hide beneath the trees and Isabella Swan never waivers from her self appointed task. Soon enough, an imperfect swing, complete with wooden plank seat and duck-taped 'handles' on the rope itself, now hangs proudly from the tree.

With her hands planted firmly on her waist, Isabella gives the latest addition to the yard a quick inspection. She must be pleased with what she sees, because a wide grin breaks out across her face and Emmett is treated to the hilarious sight that is Isabella Swan attempting an running leap onto her creation. She overshoots the runway, ass missing the seat, not even managing a quick peck of action as she flies over it. The sheer amount of effort it takes to not laugh at her almost brings Emmett to his knees, though his smile is hella genuine when the girl just laughs at herself. He has to double back further into the forest when she actually does manage to get up onto the swing, and then fall right back off again after she got too engaged in her 'victory dance'.

Oh man, she's a riot. He's so glad Edward didn't eat her.

.

* * *

 **Well...well... in my defence, this had been wrote before Hiatus. As a scribble. But today happened and now there's 1000 words of a chapter 2, so I'm posting this with tentative hopes that it'll be continued.**

 **Tsume**

 **xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"His appendix burst?!" Bella parrots dumbly, Jessica simply nodding along with a deep pout and genuine worry in her eyes. True, she barely knows Edward and true, Bella kinda gets the feeling she's more in love with the idea of him, but the point is, Jessica is worried. And Bella kinda feels like a hag for thinking so bad of Edward Cullen while his internal organs ruptured. Whoops, guilt trip galore.

And that is when Bella is hit with a bout of inspiration.

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* * *

.

"Got yourself a suitor, Alice?"

"Nope!" Bouncing into the living room, Alice presents the bouquet to Edward with a flourish, producing the accompanying card she'd tucked into her jacket at the first opportune moment after she'd been entrusted with its safe delivery. Her dear brother stares at the stems, utterly bamboozled as he works through the hazed remains of Isabella's lingering scent. The rest of the family slowly (for vampires anyway) migrate over, even Rose looks curious. Alice is all but vibrating with excitement over what's happened; she's adorable and Alice is certain they're going to be the best of friends. So thoughtful, so kind, so, unexpected! This is going to be great!

"A get-well card?"

"Yep! Since we're rolling with the whole appendix thing- but I didn't even see this coming! Bella must've just decided it on the fly!"

Alice claps her palms together, mind already whirling with the vast amount of information that has been steadily brewing there for years. She'd had no idea that Bella would be Edward's singer; it makes things riskier than she'd like. The rest of them may not know it yet, but Bella is going to be a close part of their family. She'll better them, complete their unit. Edward might be able to read this from her mind, but he doesn't know it, doesn't yet feel it in his bones, doesn't sense it with every step and every breath. Not like Alice does.

No, the future is looking bright and it is at last so close Alice can almost taste it, can feel the flavour sitting on the back of her throat as her mouth pools with venom. It's here at last.

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* * *

.

Fingers aching and breath a visible ghost before her lips, Bella sits back on her haunches, grinning wildly at her Dad. She'd rolled out of bed (not so) bright and (certainly) early, only to find Charlie in the process of attaching snow chains to the trust rusk bucket that she calls a truck. He'd seemed surprised at her eagerness to help and, while her fingers certainly aren't thanking her for it, the experience has been another good slot of Daddy/daughter bonding time.

"Well, I think that should do it, Bells."

"I'd say so. Thanks for starting it, but next time give e a shout? Because this is certainly something I need to know how to do if I'm gonna be spending a few years here." Offering Charlie one more smile, Bella clambers to her feet, brushing down the rumpled material of her jumper. It's a different motif today, an old Halloween favourite with a cheesy logo. It's not the season yet but Bella's not really bothered; the burnt orange colouring suits her skin tome and the wool is soft as hell. "Well, I'll head off. I've got you a packed lunch set up in the fridge; I did it while I was making my own. See you tonight, Chief!"

Snapping off a quick salute to the background noise of her father's chuckles, Bella jolts open the door of the trunk, scooping up her bag from where she'd deposited it on the drive earlier, and clambers into the cab. It's far from graceful; at one point she one of the bag's straps caught on the stick-shift and Ol' Red complains loudly when she attempts to wrestle it free and almost throws the truck into a sixth gear that doesn't exist. But she manages well enough, settling into the driver's seat with only minimal fuss. A quick glance out the windscreen and Bella scoffs, fondly rolling her eyes at the sight of her father in hysterics. Okay, it probably was funny to anyone watching, she'll admit to that. Allowing the engine to roar to life beneath her fingers (admittedly, Ol' Red is more a retired lion lounging upon pride rock than a king of the jungle in his prime), Bella throws the truck into reverse and swings out into the road. Not too many years left of school now… perhaps she should truly start considering just what she will be doing after that. She's got a lot open to her this time around, what with being in the land of the free. More opportunities than a small costal town in England that is.

.

.

Sliding into what is swiftly becoming her seat at the cafeteria table, Bella drops her bookbag to the ground with a solid sounding thump, nudging it beneath the table with the heel of her foot. She's a little doubtful that any of the teenagers here would take a fall as gracefully and full of good humour as she might, so better to be safe than sorry. Pulling out a carton of homemade pasta, Bella cracks the lid from the top, fork twisting in her hands before she spears one of the penne.

"Oh my god, Bella, oh my god!" Jolting at Jessica's less than subtle words, Bella stares crestfallenly down at the pasta that has dropped from her fork thanks to the vigorous shaking Jessica is giving her arm.

"Jess, 'm trying to eat."

"Edward's back!" Jessica hisses and Bella finally drags her eyes up from her untouched lunch, meeting the burning golden gaze from across the room. Holy hell, those are some startling eyes. Bella blinks, breaking the improv staring contest as she turns her attention back to her pasta, this time skewering two pieces with a frown. "Bella!"

"What, Jessica, would you like me to say?" Grinning as she finally (finally!) gets to eat a bite of her lunch since cracking the lid off two minutes ago, Bella turns her attention to the other girl, cocking a deliberating eyebrow her way.

"Come on, Bella, you could at least admit you're a little interested."

"Look, just because I find them all hella attractive, doesn't mean I'm going to wax poetically about shoving my tongue down their throat. Or if you would like me to dig further into the typical teenage fantasies for something to wrap my tongue around-"

"Bella!" Jessica screeches scandalised, drawing the attention of half the cafeteria to their table. The other half are preoccupied with the Cullen table, where the big burly one has broken out into thunderous bellowing laughter. It's a warm sound, bright and happy; she can see why he's the one spoken for out of the three guys.

"You think it, not say it aloud!"

"Nah, I've got better things to occupy my brain with. Besides, I want more than a teenage mentality of 'too cool for school, I can't risk acknowledging those of lower social standing'." Jabbing her empty fork in Jessica's direction, as if to punctuate the finality of her sentence, Bella returns to her food with a smile smearing across her face.

"Anyway, enough about them. Tell me about your dress, the date worthy one you were bragging about."

With one last glance towards the Cullen table (where Big and Beefy has yet to stop chuckling), Jessica begins to elaborate on the dress she had discovered on a previous shopping expedition to Port Angeles. Bella listens attentively, pulling through as much food as she can while Jessica fills the air with white noise. Well, not white noise, that's not a fair description. Bella's listening, she's soaking everything in the other girl says… but part of her is still very much aware of a pair of eyes still drilling into the side of her head. Flicking her gaze back to the Cullen table, Bella meets the scorching stare Edward Cullen is directing her way, a slight pucker at the skin above his eyebrows. How does appendicitis work? Has he had his appendix removed, or have they just fixed it up? Is he really well enough to have come back to school? With any luck, he's hopefully as skilled at lip-reading as he is at giving teenaged, intimidating glares.

'You okay?'

He stares a bit longer, frowns a little deeper, before the edges of his lips twitch up in an ever so slight smile and he ducks his head. It's the tiniest, barest nod of agreement but it settles the worry in Bella's stomach. He's okay and with any luck he won't be kneeling over in biology now. Hopefully he's as nice to get along with as he is to look at. In the meantime-

"Jess, come over to my house tonight and bring your best three dresses. After that, we're going out for a meal- there is somewhere to have a meal here, right?" The other girl flounders for a moment, popping a cherry tomato between her lips.

"Yeah, but why are we going for a meal?"

"Why not? That's what friends do, right?" The answering smile she gets in return is promising. Maybe she's not so incapable of making friends after all. And well, Bella thinks as her eyes slide back over to the Cullen table once more, it's go big or go home, right?

.

.

Dropping into her chair (and it is her chair now, she's been occupying it for several weeks now) with all the grace and enthusiasm of a dog in snow, Bella slides her bag beneath the table as her notebook hits the top. Edward is already sitting beside her, and he is once again as stiff as… well, there's a fair few things she could describe him as, each one getting less polite as she considers them. Banishing the ideas from mind (and absentmindedly noticing that the cute pixie Cullen has managed to secure a table swap to sit herself across the aisle from Edward), Bella picks up a pen and twirls it around her fingers.

"So… you all healed up now?" Edward hums, the sound low and rough. Bella bites back the instinctive thoughts on rudeness, drumming a reminder of what happened the last time she made assumptions into her brain. That she's swearing some new perfume just in case is a moot point. She should go for a run after this; she'd avoided it this morning given the night's chilled remains stretching across the sidewalk with its iced fingers. By now it should have all melted… maybe. Hopefully? It'll be nice to get some crisp winter air into her lungs.

A slip of paper nudged against her forearm and Bella startles. In the neatest handwriting she's ever seen from a boy, there's 'I am sorry, it hurts to talk for too long -Edward'. That he's taken the time to scribble that down (though let's not mention his handwriting is calligraphy worthy) is kinda sweet. Especially given the male ego of most boys here. Though she'd had no idea appendicitis could affect the voice. Then again, poor boy might have gotten an infection from whatever hospital procedure he'd gone through. Bella is, after all, not the be all and end all of all knowledge.

"It's fine, I can talk enough for the both of us I guess. Though if you get tired of it, well you'll just have to deal." Bella let's the words sit in the air for a moment before she snorts, offering the curious, right state Edward gives her a winning smile. "I'm joking. If I'm bothering you, just elbow me and I'll shut up." Pen flicking across the paper between them, Bella only releases it once she's done with her little caricature; a mini-Edward brandishing razor sharp elbows now present. The barely masked befuddlement on her table-mate's face is hilarious. Equally amusing is the way his adopted sister is, in a far from subtle way, attempting to see what she's doodled.

'You're not what I was expecting.'

"Expecting some kind of Jessica 2.0, I wanna climb the Cullen boys like a tree, big city girl?" Edward shakes his head, looking away and one hand fluffs through his hair, whisking bronze locks to and fro. He still look exceptionally model-like, it's sort of ridiculous but makes him very nice to look at indeed. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I like Jessica, but I am aware she's… a stereotypical teenager." Jessica can be nice; the pressure of being semi-popular and coupled with a determination to remain at that status level is shackling her, preventing really growth. Bella knows, she's been there before. It's why she's more than happy to keep trying to be friends with her; hopefully there's someone fun and cheery under all that teenage melodrama.

Scribbling down the notes on the board, Bella chances another quick glance towards Edward, taking note of the stiff shoulders and just how little his rib cage seems to be moving.

"Does it hurt to breathe too? You're really quite still."

"No," Edward whispers and it is a soft, slow thing, tinged with a strained humour that doesn't really backup his words. Bella can feel her own smile wilt ever so slightly by the tension, but she brushes it off. If he doesn't want to talk that's fine. Writing's okay too, everyone has their little oddities and who is Bella to judge a person by their little ticks?

"Did you end up with a whacking great big scar then?" Bella asks as Edward reaches for the equipment. There's a hazy memory of appendicitis and scars baffling in the back of her mind; it's not something she's had to think about in a long time but the old knowledge slowly comes tumbling back. Edward Cullen, he of the golden eyes that seem darker than before, twists to give her a curious look and Bella traces a line down the side of her abdomen. She has no idea if that is where a lab appendicitis scar would rest, she's taking a guess. From the amused smile Edward tries to hide in his lips as he ducks to write on their conversation paper, she's not quite hit the mark.

'Carlisle saved my life, but he did make the scar he gave me as neat as possible.'

"Coolio. Hopefully he's not ruined your chances as a male model; Jess'll be heartbroken if that's the case."

'It's a huge scar, ugly and twisted.' Bella snorts a laugh, having not truly expected a response like that. She can't tell if it's a deadpan joke or a genuine attempt by Edward to shake Jessica off his tail, but she finds it funny all the same.

"Has your blond brother had appendicitis recently too? He was wearing your expression at lunch time."

And, she thinks as Edward's writes a decisive 'no' on the sheet of paper, that maybe making friends with one of the elusive Cullens isn't as hard as everyone thought. People just need to be a little more positive about things.

.

* * *

.

He's on Edward watch tonight, seeing as Alice and Esme took last night's shift. Him and Rose, his darling wife, the butter to his bread, the venom to his fangs, the-

"Emmett!" Edward's irritated hiss draws him back to the present and Emmett laughs, dropping onto a particularly thick tree branch. It groans under his weight but holds steady.

"Don't be such a bore, Eddy." If he doesn't like what's going on in his head, then he shouldn't go digging through it. After all, he's got some brilliant memories he's more than happy to think about with Rose. Just like that time she- "Ow! Babe!" The crack of Rose's hand slamming against his chest tumbled through the air, thunder on a cloudless night. He spots Bella (it's Bella, to Isabelle which is great because it's so much less of a mouthful) on the front porch spending a curious glance to the sky. Luckily, she shrugs it off as irrelevant and gets back to stretching. The girl's in good shape, not Rose worthy shape, but then what other woman is shaped like a goddess and just as-

"Emmett," Edward moans, pressing forefinger and thumb to his forehead, "please." Right, keeps he thoughts PG. He can do that. For a little bit.

"I don't even understand why we are here," Rose grumbles, arm's folded across her chest, the soft pink of her hoodie a delightful background to the waterfall of blond locks that tumble down before her shoulders. God, she's gorgeous, he's so lucky.

"I need to become accustomed to Bella's scent if we want to remain here." Emmett snickers, shoulders rolling back in the same stretching motion Bella is currently completing. Oh, he wonders what it feels like, this fabled muscle burn that apparently humans suffer when they exercise too much too soon.

"I still can't believe your appendix excuse got swallowed up, hook, line and sinker." Emmett has gotten that bouquet of flowers pressed between two glass panes and the get well card treated for long term display. He's not letting this go for at least fifty years; this shit's gold. All this just because some chick rocked up outta nowhere smelling oh so fine.

"Bells! You got your taser?"

"Yep!" The girl hooks a thumb into her pocket, pulling free a small plastic box that she spins between her fingers. Even with the distance between them, Emmett can still hear the tell-tale crackle of electricity that sparks between the two prongs. "I'm good!" she hollers, stuffing the device back into her pocket before proceeding to fire quick finger guns at her father, laughing as she finally stops risking tripping over her own two feet by twisting around to begin jogging forwards instead of back. It's a pretty familiar routine by now; whenever one of them have popped by to see how she of the delicious blood has been doing, she'd either been off running or up to something as ridiculous as the backyard swing.

Emmett loves it; it's been a while since he's seen an interesting human.

"I don't see why we just can't make her leave," Rose mutters, folding her arms and watching the little human take off settle into a steady pace of a jog down the street. Humming to himself, Emmett leaps down onto the road, the sturdy tree branch he'd been standing upon shaking in the aftermath of his departure. He'd made sure to land away from any curious human eyes; the only other person really around is Chief Swan and he's focused on the game. The game Emmett would like to be watching but instead he's tailing Edward as he tails the interesting human. Well, there are plenary of matches that he'll be able to watch in the future and it's not as if he has anyone at school to discuss the match with. None of the other Cullen's are really interested in football; baseball is the family sport, after all.

"Because we don't have the right to remain here over Isabella," Edward murmurs, the usual self-hatred taking over his features and Emmett pushes down the urge to roll his eyes. He's never tested it, but given vampire physiology, he wouldn't put it past his body to be capable of rolling his eyes hard enough that the pop right out of their sockets. It'd be just his luck and dear Rose would sooner laugh at his idiocy than help him for the first five minutes. Not that he can blame her, if anyone else did that, he'd find it pretty fucking hilarious too.

"And, like, Alice is super excited about it all. She must have seen something good, right?" Emmett muses, rubbing one forefinger and thumb against his chin as he thinks. "She'd have warned us if it were all gonna go to pieces. She trusts you, Eddy." Emmett doesn't exactly throw his own weight behind the belief Edward can resist. Sure, that self-hatred and certainty he's a monster that must suppress his own instincts has carried he pretty far already... but Emmett recalls his own singers vividly. How divine their blood had smelt, how the scent had been a siren's call, enticing him in, a hypnotic trance he'd not awoken from until he was already fang deep in a near drained body. Yeah, Emmett knows how hard that is to resist.

"I can do this," Edward agrees, taking in a deep breath. The hunger and pain of denial is crystal clear on his face.

Well, he's a stronger man than Emmett, that's for sure.

.

* * *

 ***Sweats nervously***

 **Still on Hiatus? (** _I'm so weak to reviews though and you gave me 100+ of them for the first chapter of this..._ **)**

 **Tsume**

 **xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Bella!"

"Hi, Mom!" Twirling the cord of the phone around her index finger, Bella drops onto the kitchen chair she'd pulled up to the wall, homework balanced upon her legs. "How are things? Phil treating you right? Or do you want me to come down and play the brat daughter card for a bit? I can still school myself into that role." Rene laughs, the sound joyous and warm, rattling down the tinny phone. Basking in the familiar sound, Bella let's her eyes slip closed, smiling softly. Rene's a good Mom, little absentminded and a bit of a space case at times, but she's always done right by Bella. She came to every dance show (before Bella decided she'd rather do athletics than after school ballet; more sports to learn about and take part in) and when she'd started picking up her own random hobbies, if Bella had shown a mote of interest, Rene had happily looked for somewhere they could do it together as mother/daughter bonding time.

"Phil is fine, silly girl. He's the love of my life; if I wouldn't settle for something without fireworks, what makes you think I'd put up with anything that requires brat daughter to save me?"

"Just checking, Mom, just checking," Bella chuckles, scribbling down the first answer in the relevant box. Algebra isn't too tough; she'd had a bit of a flair for maths in her old life, she remembers, and it'd clearly carried over to this world. Maybe a scientist for a job? She could help a fair few people if she went into biology and genetics, couldn't she? Bella understands herself enough; while she's not got much of a problem with blood, cutting other people open (even if it is to fix them) isn't something she's super comfortable with. So, surgeon is out in the 'careers for the future' list. She's not a big fan of the doctor idea either; she wants to help but seeing people in pain (and predominantly being exposed to those who she cannot help no matter how hard she tries), well, Bella feels like it'd destroy her positive attitude one day at a time. She's worked so hard to cultivate that mindset for this life, it's not something she wants to lose.

"And why is my little girl ringing? Any news?"

"Oh, you bet, the best kind of news. I have a friend, potentially a second one that I'm meeting up with after school tomorrow for lunch."

"Ah! Any boys?"

"Nah," Bella snorts, rolling her eyes and balancing out the 3X against the 4Y, "their names are Jessica and Angela; one's really outspoken and the other's quiet but they're both nice girls." For teenagers, Bella concludes, chewing on the end of her pen. "But I did go on a date today."

"Share with Mama, baby Bell, share with Mama."

"Okay, okay, why did you think I'd rung?" Truthfully, it's been to check on her scatter-brained mother, but having a great deal to talk about, to giggle over in a way only mother and daughter can, soothed Bella's edgy mind. Her Mum is safe, happy and just because she cannot see Rene, doesn't mean she's stopped existing altogether. "So, one of the boys at school, Andy, asked me out in a date and I thought, why not? I'd get to know another classmate, probably have a good time. And you know, it was fun. We went for a meal, walked around the little town park, we talked. Date stuff."

"Awe! Does my baby have a boyfriend?!"

From where he has clearly been trying to pretend he's not listening, Charlie's head snaps up and he glares over at her, stubborn frown on his face.

"Nah. He's not really mature enough for me." Her father looks back to his paper, smile half hidden beneath the thicket of his moustache and Bella fondly rolls her eyes.

"Only the best for my little girl! Now tell me about these friends!"

.

Leaping out the trunk, Bella grins as broken ice crunches underfoot, her right heel slipping but left digging firm. It's times like this (weather like this) where she's reminded of that first and last disastrous attempt ice skating (or any winter sports really) with Rene. It'd all ended in tears. Usually it was tears of laughter as they poked fun at each other, but there was that case of the broken ankle… Shaking the thought off, Bella heaves her bag from the passenger seat, dragging the backpack across the cushioned bench until she can swing it up and onto her shoulders. The cool air nips at her fingertips, kissing harsh against her cheeks as she twists to slam the car door shut. It's not too promising that she slides half a foot away from her car with the back-force. Hmmm, maybe she should invest in snowshoes; it's clear her hiking boots aren't quite up for the challenge. Chewing on the flesh of her lower lip, Bella adjusts the strap of her bag one last time and snaps a hand out so that her palm may lie flat against the trunk's side. It's not a hand-hold (she'd need to get to the bed for that) but it's better than nothing. With the grace of baby Bambi, Bella begins to slowly shuffle out of the parking lot, not yet daring to venture from her support until there is no other choice.

Another student on the opposite side of the car park almost goes down, limbs flailing wildly before he miraculously regains his balance. Bella shoots him a thumbs up when the boy makes a startled glance 'round, undoubtedly wondering if anyone has seen his slip. She smears a big grin across her face to accompany her duo of thumbs. Unfortunately, she's been foolish enough to release Ol' Red to send her support. It's really no surprise at all that Bella ends up arse over tits on the floor a mere moment later. Near-fall boy gawks as he laughs, looking a little shamed faced but Bella just chuckles. Typical Bella behaviour. Rubbing at her throbbing hip, Bella curls her legs back under her, hands digging into the black-iced tarmac with as much stability as she can manage. She's halfway up, having managed to work into a semi-respectable half kneel when she hears the bellowing horn of warning. Head snapping up, Bella has a single moment to register the car that's screeching towards her before it slams into her.

No, wait, it's not the car that slams into her, it can't be. She's going in the wrong direction, has been hit from the side and not the front. But it sure does hurt like a car crash. Not that she's ever really been in a car crash to be able to compare the sensations. Head on the concrete and mind scrambling to catch up with everything that has happened, Bella stares up into the wide warm eyes above her.

"You okay, Bella?"

"You're Alice," Bella notes, hands having somehow found the smaller woman's leather jacket, curled tight in the lapels and she has zero intention of releasing her now. Nope, no way. First there'd been the car of death and now hovering over her is the single Cullen girl who must be an angel in disguise.

"I'm flattered, Bella. I've never been called an angel before."

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" It slips out of Bella's mouth (she's pretty sure she's in shock by apparently even that's not enough to remove the foot in mouth syndrome that has forever plagued her) without any kind of warning. Luckily, Alice gives the most delighted, pleased laugh that she's ever had the pleasure of hearing. It's not really fair, what few words from Edward were spoken in a swoon worthy tone too. No wonder they all ended up adopted; if Bella were faced by a younger Alice or Edward asking for something with their pretty faces as pretty voices, she'd be hard pressed to say no, Ah, who is Bella kidding, they could ask something of her now and she's probably do her best to help. But she'd do the same for Jessica or any of the other kids here.

"Can't say I've ever been asked that either," Alice chirps, working one arm under the small of Bella's back, the other wrapping around her shoulders. Soon enough she's sitting up as a collection of high school students steadily gather. Included within that is he of the 'horrific' appendix scar and his brother who, if he doesn't already have it, certainly wears an expression that suggests he's on his way to contracting his own medical issues. Ouch. It's probably not contagious though.

"You're real lucky Alice Cullen was so close!" One of the other students points out and Bella pauses. She can't quite remember if Alice was actually close by. She knows all the Cullen kids get to school in Edward's ride (information fed to her from Jessica's motormouth) but she doesn't know which car belongs to the clan. Hell, she doesn't have the slightest clue as to how the pixie-like girl had managed to react fast enough to pull her out the way of the car. Not that Bella's ungrateful. She is in fact hella grateful. She owes Alice a new dress. If the other girl would accept something that doesn't come with a hefty price tag. Maybe something homemade instead? Made with love and care-

"-lla? Bella?" Blinking, Bella stares up into the blank face of Jasper Hale. She's never been this close to the senior but, just like the rest of his cohort, he's ridiculously pretty. If she were Jessica, she might describe him as tasty, a delightful snack of a man. Edward is trying to hide a confused little grin by lifting the collar of his coat. Maybe they're superheroes in disguise or something.

"She's in shock." Squinting at the pair but reasonably certain they said that at the same time (one more with a ridiculously attractive voice. What even-), Bella holds a shaky hand out for someone, anyone to grab.

"You know, I think I probably belong at hospital right now." Evidentially, the good-looking bunch after because they're quick to pile her into the back of a car that must be Edward's. It even smells like them. Pressing her face into the cushion of the backseat, Bella whines as Alice cheerfully informs her she needs to stay awake, asking all sorts of silly questions. Of course she knows what the year is, who wouldn't?

.

The hospital is just like the one Rene dragged her to upon the crest of the broken ankle incident, just with two key difference. Number one; it's a lot smaller and, ergo, nowhere near as busy. She's almost starting to kiss the hustle and bustle of Phoenix. Almost. But, yeah, it's smaller and there's so much more breathing space in the waiting room. Not that they spend any time in the waiting room. Instead a nurse spots Edward and waves them right through. Bella's got hazy memories of Jasper calling someone; they must have called ahead or something. Her head's pounding so Bella's not really been in top form, noticing who the blond had been talking to had been lower on her priority list than letting his honeyed voice serenade her off to a quick nap that'd been cruelly nipped in the bud when Alice's fingers had dug into her side. It'd been a brutal short jab and… And Bella's not exactly telling the truth there but she's feeling a little grumpy right now.

Which brings her to key difference number two; Hot Doc. Edward and Alice and Jasper's adopted father who has probably never given in to their puppy eyes because he's got a set of his own and undoubtedly knows how to use them. Man, they're all so pretty. Maybe not superheroes but aliens? A more advanced species of human? The pinnacle of evolution, that's for certain.

Why is Edward looking at her like that?

"Well, I can see where the assessment of shock came from, but I am more inclined to believe it's the bump to Bella's head that's our cause for concern here."

"Come'on, Doc," Bella moans, hands held pleadingly before her in a demand for tribute and fingers making grabby motions, "gimme the good drugs." Hot Doc laughs, warm and friendly and kind and Bella can only counter that beautiful sound with her best grin. How can they not be related? That such pretty people came from different families, from different gene pools, doesn't seem right.

"My apologies, Isabella, but there'll be no drugs for the moment. How many fingers am I holding up?"

Bella answers the question, along with the next handful the doctor fires her way. They're easy enough and she's reasonably certain the good Doc is scribbling down A+'s on his clipboard. Flicking a quick glance to the younger Cullens who have been made to wait in the corridor, Bella offers the her best smile. She's got no idea why they've stuck around (she's pretty damn sure her dad'll be here soon enough so it's not like she won't have a ride home) but it's nice to know they care. That warm fuzz settles in her stomach, the one that always accompanies positive human interaction, releasing all those delightful endorphins into her bloodstream.

"You done good, Doc." Hot Doc pauses in his work, flicking his golden gaze up to inspect her face. Slowly, his lips creep into a smile.

"I'm glad you're pleased with my work, Isabella."

"Huh? Oh, nah, not with me. I come back around like a bad penny. Nah, I'm talking 'bout your kids. You're all good people."

Hot Doc's warm, near proud smile is all Bella can focus on at that moment. But that's cool, she's had worse trips to the hospital than this.

.

The hospital bed is covered in crinkly, paper thin sheets. They're awful. Scrunching up a section of the material, Bella releases the 'fabric' and grimaces as it remains moulded in place. Damn, that's nasty.

"Bella." Pausing, Bella lifts her gaze; Edward is standing next to her bed. Is it visiting hours? Is he really visiting if he was the one to drive her to the hospital? Alice had been lovely company in the back of the car, for all that she is clearly trying to hide her superhuman-ness. Are they all the same? Is that why they stay away from the rest of them in school? In order to ensure they create no attachments that could jeopardise the work they do? How many lives have these people saved that were just like her; doomed to die a gruesome death via out of control car?

"Bella, you're confused." No, it's actually pretty cool. Maybe whatever is up with Edward is why he prefers talking through the medium of pen and paper.

"I've got a sketchbook and pen in my bag, if it's easier to talk through that." He's got a bit of a pained look on his face, if it's easier for the other student to communicate through that method, then that's how he should do it.

"I don't need to write everything down, Bella," Edward says with a small smile to his lips, "I am capable of speech."

"That's cool, you've got a nice voice, you should use it more often."

"I- right. I guess I will try to do so. You were very lucky today that Alice was so close by."

"Ah, I didn't notice she was close. Then again, I suppose it's difficult to see her what with tall trucks and her not so tall self. Not that I mean that as an insult! She's cute as hell at that height and I've got zero issues with her incredible strength when it comes to pulling people out the way. I just hope that dent comes out of the car."

"What dent." Edward, well, doesn't quite question, but it's not really a demand either. More a statement than anything that demands she go further, that she should explain more. Bella watches his face for a moment, watches his brilliant golden eyes (a Cullen family trait? When they're all adopted? Or the sign of a race superior to humans?) burn into hers and she grins. She hasn't been this nervous since she accidentally broke Rene's 'favourite' vase. The one that turned out not to be a favourite but was in fact given by an aunt that always commented on it when she came by so Rene had never been able to throw it out.

"When Alice stopped the car? She left a big handprint in the side." If Edward were a little closer, perhaps Bella would be willing to reach over and clap a hand to his shoulder, give him a sign of clear camaraderie. "I appreciate your work to save us silly humans. You're good people." From the startled widening of Edward's eyes, Bella's pretty sure she can nail him as an alien. Mystery solved.

Now how to deal with the overprotective dad she can hear bustling down the corridor?

.

* * *

.

Seated upon the couch, Rosalie inspects her (as ever) perfect nails, ignoring Emmett's slouched form and Esme's concerned expression. The rest of the family have just pulled up and they're not even using vampiric speed to get into the house. Clearly something went down that one of them will be less than satisfied by. It's a good chance that it's her who will be displeased by it all too. With Alice risking everything to save a human guppy who's all too unaware of her own mortality… yes, it will be Rose who's displeased by whatever news they bring. As the four trudge into the household, Emmett straightens from his lazy slouch, Esme joining them on the sofa.

"We have a problem," Jasper murmurs and that cinches it. There's a reason Rose has little problem with pretending Jasper is her twin; they're usually on a similar wavelength, focused on keeping the secret of the family, focused on ensuring they're safe from discovery. While Jasper still grapples with his bloodlust, he's got a good head on his shoulders. Rose appreciates that. So when he says there's a problem, it's going to be an actual problem they can't ignore.

"Bella thinks we're aliens." Emmett roars with a sudden onset of laughter, those adorable dimples that'd first drawn Rose in surfacing in a clear sign of his genuine humour. She doesn't get the joke there. From the straight lips and furrowed brows, no one else does either.

"Aliens?" murmurs Esme, lips pursed in confusion as she looks between the four, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Bella's head, it's not like any other I've been in. Her thought process doesn't seem to follow a linear approach like every other person. There's the occasional moment where it just gets, jumbled. But she saw Alice stop the car and she's decided on aliens. Her other option was superheroes." At that, the little pixie that got them into this mess giggles, making a faux motion at hiding the sound behind her hand. Rose is far from impressed. The point is, there's now a girl who threatens their way of life. A girl who, no matter how far off the mark she may be, has realised they're not entirely human. For Edward to be confessing this to the family as a whole means he's failed to convince the girl of their 'ordinary' origins. She may think aliens now, but in a few weeks? Who knows where her mind will wander. No, she needs taking care of right now and Rose is not willing to move again, not willing to start over again so soon.

"Rose!" Alice's sharp snap, her usual light voice cracking through the room like a whip, breaks across the room like lightning over the sky. "You can't kill her! I've seen Bella, seen her before I met any of you."

"…Alice, what do you mean?" It's Carlisle that asks the question that all of them are thinking and Rose's anger bubbles when she spots the other female swiftly sealing her lips. "Alice-"

"I can't say. It might ruin things if I do, but… but Bella's important. So you can't kill her."

There's a still moment of silence as they look between one another, Alice daring them to continuing their line of questioning, Edward's brow wrinkling with concentration but he's clearly not able to lift the reason from Alice's mind. It's quiet, the same deathly silence that always descends when they just stop for a moment. No hint of breath, no heartbeat. Just a room full of soulless monsters who kill to survive.

"We'll have a vote. Who thinks we should... deal with Isabella?" It's clear Carlisle allows those words to leave his mouth as easily and freely as he would give up a tooth. That is to say, not easily at all and it probably required some (metaphorical) pliers. Huffing, Rose lifts her hand into the air.

She's the sole vampire to do so.

Shooting a betrayed glance to the only other vampire she'd thought sensible enough to agree with her on this matter, Rose isn't even treated to eye contact as Jasper ashamedly glances away. Emmett bellows another laugh and seals his fate of sleeping on the couch for the next two weeks.

"Please, Jasper's nearly high off of the girl's emotions, she's so bubbly all the time," Emmett choked out around a laugh, wiggling his brows at Rose's supposed twin. The Southern vampire doesn't even try to denying it, just slowly settles into the one seater without a word. His hands are firmly down.

"It's settled then. Isabella lives."

.

* * *

 **This chapter was like pulling teeth.**

 **In other news, I met my class for next year (they're all lovely, or so it seems at the moment), I finished my PGCe and should get my qualified teacher certificate thingy through the post in 3 weeks, and I'm off to Florida on Monday (if anyone has any food advice around Orlando area, please drop a note).**

 **I'm still not decided on pairings for this actually. It could swing one of two ways. We'll see.**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"What is she doing tonight?"

"It's bath time." Yes, Jasper had assumed as much; he can smell the scented washes, hear the fizzing of the 'bath bombs' beneath the water's surface, all through the vented window. Steam coils out from the slight gap, invisible to human eyes but all too clear to their superior sight. The steady thrum of contentment and peace that all but froths from Isabella Swan's form washes over his senses and Jasper just takes a single moment to soak, to really enjoy the sensation. He imagines its rather like a hot bath for a human; a glorious sensation that relaxes his muscles and slows his brain to a quiet hum. Watching Edward as he tortured himself over his singer is no longer the terrible task Jasper had believed it to be previously. While he can feel the other male's irritating, his frustration with himself… well, it's easy to ignore him in favour of the sensations Bella offers instead. Forks High is always full of turbulent emotions, rising and falling and yelling his mind six ways to Sunday. The amount of effort it takes to remain focused on the present, on the class and the rest of the coven… well it undoubtedly shows on his face, as Bella had so kindly pointed out in her short discussion with Edward.

Though he does find her assessment of them incredibly amusing. Aliens or superheroes. She's so far off the mark it's funny, only Rose doesn't see it that way. Edward is far too focused with wrestling bloodlust into submission, Alice had seen her coming apparently, and Emmett finds everything the girl does hilarious. Jasper, well, other than finding her sheer emotional presence delightful, Jasper's not quite sure what to make of Bella. She's a strange human, mature for her age, certainly. She recognises how immature her peers are in comparison and she adjusts her interactions but never her intentions. She's supportive and kind and so incredibly far from the typical teenager that she's the biggest oddity he's encountered in a decade. Maybe two.

"What are we doing here, Edward?"

"The more I remain around her scent, the higher a tolerance I can develop. Then life can go back to how it was." Jasper makes a noise in the back of his throat, not quite agreeing but not yet disagreeing either. Sure, such a thing can work upon animals and humans, becoming desensitised to the scent of blood, but to them? It doesn't seem to have happened for Jasper, not since he advanced from the stage of newborn vampire anyway. But Carlisle works in a hospital, works around blood every day without even the slightest dip in his iron clad control. That's the kind of level Jasper strives to be at; he had a rough start with this… second lease of life (if it could be labelled as such), the only way he can keep going is up. He refuses to spiral again. Maybe in a few centuries he'll have that kind of iron clad control too. And maybe being around Bella is giving him a strange infestation of hope.

"Can it really go back when such assumptions live in her head?" questions Jasper. The unsaid 'she may be off the mark with aliens but she's right on the money about the not human part' resides as the sword of Damocles above their heads. Undoubtedly Edward feels iron kissing at the crown of his skull just as surely as Jasper does.

Nothing but silence exists between them within that moment, two vampires nestled within a large pine, occupying one thick branch each. How much is Edward capable of lifting from his head? Can the other vampire read Bella's emotions from Jasper's mind? Can he understand the overwash of delightfulness that she brings to the environment? How referencing a change it is; if Jasper were the earth, Bella is a blazing comet swinging into his orbit. There's no contact, but she does steal all the attention from the mundane stars and their protractive presence.

"It has to. Humans shy away from what they can't understand," Edward murmurs and, on that, Jasper has to agree. If something discomforts a human, they do try their best to ignore it. That Bella is different from the rest emotionally, could she not be different in other aspects also?

.

* * *

.

The sun is undoubtedly shining and Forks'd probably be able to appreciate it were the big beauty not shying away behind cloud cover. As usual.

It's March at last and Bella can almost feel the promise of flourishing flowers and the little lambs that an impending onset of spring brings. She's looking forwards to eventually jogging without a hoodie. Oh, and the potential of sitting outside instead of in the school cafeteria.

"So, spring dance. Who are you going to ask?"

"Not Mike or Erik, if that's what you're worried about," Bella fires back, a rapid return followed by a touch of innuendo-hinting eyebrow wiggling. Jess mock scowls as Angela (a late addition to their lunch table but a more than welcomed one) flushes hard and fast. The males that usually occupy the empty seats are off doing… something. Probably working on a plan of attack on how best to attract a girl's attention so they might improve their chances of getting asked to the dance. "Oh, but wouldn't it be hilarious if the girls all asked each other."

"Too big city there, Bella, too big city. Boy and girl are the only acceptable couple here."

"Well rats," Bella grumbles with little heat. If she wants to ask a girl, she's not exactly going to let small town syndrome stop her. This is, after all, her life and Bella's going to live it how she wants to. "But no, I've actually got someone else in mind." She flicks her eyes over to the Cullen table once, twice, and then thrice. Finally, Jess follows her line of sight and gasps audibly.

"Bella, no!"

"Excuse me, Jess."

"Wha- Bella?! You're not actually going to?!"

Rising from the table, Bella uncorks that fanciful vial of valour she's been bottling up all day, making her way to the table by the window with a strong, steady pace.

Simultaneously, five heads snap up to stare at her and Bella can feel her fortification waver slightly, but it ultimately holds strong. It's like set of battering rams against a castle drawbridge but she shall not fall yet. Not at the first hurdle.

Instead, she catches a pair of startled, liquid gold eyes and drums up her best smile, the one she'd spent childhood days practicing in the mirror, desperate for a year-mate to call friend, one who wouldn't believe her 'strange'.

"Will you come to the spring dance with me, please?" That Jasper Hale double-checks she's definitely looking at him and not another of the Cullen clan is ridiculous; she made eye contact and everything. It's rather endearing too.

His twin sister snorts and yeah, Bella's well aware she's punching above her weight here (like, two weight class' of difference kind of aspirations) but she holds firm. You don't get if you don't try and the Cullen clan seem so… isolated from the rest of them. And yeah, they might be bringing it on themselves but who knows the full story? They're all adopted according to Jess, maybe there's issues with social interaction because of that, no matter Hot Doc's best intentions. Bella can only offer a hand and see what happens (and hope it doesn't get bitten).

Edward's struggling to look at her and Bella hasn't the slightest idea why when she scans the group before her eyes return to Jasper Hale. She's doing her best to ignore how noise in the cafeteria seems to have halved in the last five seconds, never mind how more and more voices seem to be muting themselves as time drags by.

"You're asking me to the dance?" Jasper finally says and his voice is just as velvet and sex-laced as the rest of them. Well hell, she's not surprised in the slightest; is this what Clark Kent would have sounded like had he been real? A collection of alien superheroes and here Bella is attempting to affix one to her side as arm candy for a night.

"That's exactly what I'm doing," Bella concedes with a nod of her head, hooking a thumb into the front pocket of her trusty blue jeans, the ones that cling nicely to her calves but have a little more room in the thigh. If they just so happen to hug her ass, well it's not like she picked those jeans- oh who is she kidding? Bella's got enough vanity in her for that to be the sole reason she bought these jeans and can be honest enough with herself to admit to that. "Is this you accepting or declining? Come on, Hale, I'm a big girl, I can take a little rejection with only a few tears if that's the reason for you pause." Grinning, Bella runs a hand through her hair, pushing it back and away from her face. Without that curtain threatening to fall, she's treated to the high definition display of Jasper Hale's slowly blooming smile.

"I think this is me accepting, Ma'am." Oh. Oh wow, Southern charm. That's, that's dangerous.

"Sweet," Bella blurts out, so startled she pulls her hand free from where it'd been toying with her pocket to instead rub sheepishly at the back of her neck, "can't say I was expecting that but it'd be a lie to say I'm not pleased as punch. And it's Bella, not Ma'am, Cowboy."

"Jasper!" The hiss that comes from a suddenly very angry looking blonde has Bella rocking back on her heels. Regardless of what can only be impending danger, Jasper Hale does not look away from her, nor does his little smile wilt. It's just the thing Bella needs to see, that little confidence boost that'll get her through, well, probably the rest of the year actually.

"We can meet at school, Dad's a cop." The unspoken 'so you'll probably want to avoid the intimidation show that'd come with picking me up' goes unspoken.

"I'm aware. I'll see you around, Bella."

"Later, Cowboy." Bella twists on heel, heading back over to her table, not even fazed when the big burly Cullen lets out a truly ecstatic laugh. Instead, feeling like her hands should be shaking from adrenaline or endorphins or something, Bella drops back into her usual seat and plucks up her unwrapped sandwich. Jess is gawking at her.

"What the hell?!"

"I'm going to the spring dance with Hale. Good luck with Mike-"

"No, you're not allowed to do that. You've got to tell me how you did that!"

.

The afternoon passes swiftly; people whisper but no one really dares to approach her to actually ask. Well, barring Mike who checks with her if she is truly going with Jasper Hale to the spring dance. He gets a bit of a face on him when Bella confirms it, to which she can only pat him on the shoulder and happily inform him there's someone who intends to ask him soon.

Which leads her to the present, inspecting the student bulletin board. There's a call for help on decorations for her spring dance and while Bella's no Van Gogh, she's not too shabby at painting. Finger running under the room number, she twists on the balls of her feet, near skipping down the corridor, hem of her open coat pecking constantly at the back of her legs. There's not many students left after school, the vast majority having disappear off home. But she does find a handful of overworked pupils residing within the classroom. Bella sucks in a deep, sharp breath and crosses the threshold, hefting her bag back up over shoulder.

"Fresh recruit Swan, reporting for decoration duty." A startled laugh echoes her declaration and the ginger haired girl that must be leading the efforts here sizers her up.

"You any good at painting?"

"I'm no Picasso, but I'm half decent in the ways of high school art."

Soon enough, Bella has found herself armed with a brush and presented with an empty banner that needs a bouquet of daffodils slapped across its extensive length. There's something repetitive about the motion and she's quick to lose herself in the painting, putting the events of the day from her mind for now.

.

There's a truck on her drive, a truck that isn't Ol' Red.

Slamming the cab door shut, Bella pats her trusty rust-red automobile, flicking the tail of hair back over her shoulders as she makes for the door. Sure enough, it opens before she can even knock and Jacob is there with his ridiculous grin and wild hair.

"Jake!"

"Argh! She's diseased!" Bella snorts, throwing herself into the boy's arms and wrapping her own tight around his neck. If she happens to bury him face first into her armpit, well, that's a purposeful power move.

"Gross!" Jacob quickly peels himself free and Bella grins, tugging gently on a lock of his near feral hair.

"Did you say my little girl's diseased, Black." Charlie's call has Bella perking up, hip checking Jacob aside so she can make her way down the hallway to better greet her dad. She finds him in the kitchen, sitting up to table with heated leftovers cracked open to share with Billy. Bella plants a kiss atop her dad's head, snatching up a wrap full of… whatever they'd had last night. It tastes Mexican, but not the usual flavour; some new recipe that's name escapes her right now. Jacob ambles into the kitchen a few moments after the slam of the front door rattled the frame, hands digging deep into his pockets and a teasing tilt to his lips.

"Yellow spots, Charlie. I'm afraid she's contracted a case of the adorkables. Common signs include paint-based freckles and adorably flustered cheeks."

"Oh hardy-ha-ha," Bella grunts, flicking Jacob in the shoulder as she passes him in her quest to find a mirror. The stairs groan beneath her quickstep up them but soon enough Bella is in the bathroom, half a burrito wrap jammed in her mouth and a galaxy of yellow spots littering her face. Okay, she'd maybe gotten a bit enthusiastic about the painting thing but at least it's done. Bella's contributed and done her part, she's all set to go with the spring dance. Speaking of which-

"Hey, Dad! School dance is on the Saturday after next. I need to get a dress for it!" Heaving her sweater up and over her head, Bella snatched up her running gear, changing as swiftly as she can manage. She's halfway through shimmying the leggings up her thighs when Jacob comes bounding up the stairs. He pauses and gawks, mouth popping open and Bella wriggles the last of her lower half into Lycra.

"Get a good look, Jake?" Now it's his turn to blush, swinging around to face away from her and Bella snorts. It's hardly like he saw anything; if they went swimming together he'd see about the same thing given just how much flesh a bikini covers, which is to say not very much at all.

It is with little fanfare that Bella leads her companion back down the stairs, throwing a sweatband at the younger teen's head in a clear invitation.

"What's this about a dance, Bells?"

"Girl's choice, spring dance. I asked and my target said yes, so I'm going. But I do need to get my hands on a half decent dress to go with my heels."

"Are heels really a good idea?" There's a moment where both Bella and her father acknowledge the track record Bella boasts with balance and agility, sharing a shifty look with each other.

"I'm sure I'll manage," Bella finally mutters, peeling hair back against her skull until she can seal it in position with a bobble, "and if not, Jasper's tall and has strong shoulders. I'm sure he'll be able to hold me up."

"Strong shoulders," Charlie repeats dumbly, staring with furrowed brows and Bella grins back, pocketing her taser and loosening her shoulders, hopping from one foot to the other.

"Well, I could expand on that with you instead of Mom-"

"Leave it for Rene. Keep the kid safe on your run," Charlie mutters, ducking his head down to continue inhaling his leftovers alongside Billy. There must be a game due to start soon; it's the only reason Bella can give as to why Jacob and Billy have come over.

"Don't worry, Chief. I will."

"I was talking to Bells, Jake." Laughing at the sudden fountain of splutters Jacob now sprouts, Bella snatched up his arm and drags him to the door, eager to just get on with it all.

.

The cool night's air has her lungs aching and her pulse is a steady hammering in her ears. Bella sucks in a deep breath, laying one hand flat against a tree trunk as the other clutches firmly to her flashlight.

"Are you asking to get murdered, Bella? Running in the dark?"

"Please, I'm pretty sure this place has Guardian angels," of the superhero or extra-terrestrial kind, "so I'm not too worried. If I'm lucky, they might be watching over me right now." Jacob showcase exactly how he feels about that idea with disbelieving snort and firm roll of his eyes. Bella follows the motion, releasing her grip on the tree to instead pinch at the other teen's nose, squashing the two nostrils shut. Jacob fights the motion, fingers attacking her ribs until she squirms away.

"I hope this Jasper dude knows what he's getting into, Bella, because you're absolutely crackers." Maybe she is. Maybe she doesn't think in the same way others do at her age, maybe she's got a brighter, lighter outlook on life. But she remembers that haze of depression in the first few years, can recall the childhood photos and just how gaunt she'd looked, how dead-eyed she'd appeared. Sometimes there are moments when she wonders if, had she'd recovered from the shock a little quicker, acclimatised a little faster, maybe her parents could have made it. But no, that's a bad thought, Rene is happy with Phil, Larry the Lamb style happy, and while Charlie's not quite at that stage… it's not the constant fights she remembers. It's not the muffled sound of each parent crying in separate rooms as she lays in bed and wonders why she's failing as the family glue, drying out and useless. It's not like she ever managed to really stick them together as a family unit in the first place, looking back on it. But she's better now, recovered and at the top of her game. It's not difficult to remain there anymore, she's been practicing all the smiles, the laughs, the positivity, for so long it's engrained now. So what if she's crackers; at least she's nice about it.

"If I'm too much for him to handle, then it's only for one night, he can run for the hills afterwards," concludes Bella with a low shrug of her shoulders, arms thrown up and over her head as she stretches out the muscles there. Her core feels tight with how hard she's pushed herself and she's not ignorant to the sweat that laces Jacob's brow. He needs to work out a bit more.

"Yeah, I guess. You know, being out at night like this kinda reminds me of some old tales my dad used to tell me."

"Oh?" Head tilted to a side because tales of any kind are interesting and something she'd very much like to hear about, Bella hops from foot to foot one last time before she sets off. It's not a round route tonight, they're just retracing their steps now to make it back home at a slower pace. "Do tell."

"I don't know if you'll have ever heard about this one, it's kinda a tribe tale but you and Charlie are practically family anyway. It's about the Cold Ones."

.

* * *

 **Before I disappear for a (hopefully well deserved) holiday, have another chapter. Dependent on the flight, I might get some more typed up via i-pod, but who knows.**

 **Thanks for all the super reviews so far (and while I'm not set on a pairing, I am leaning towards one right now, as you can see). I'll see how the fic evolves from here.** **But yes, some long overdue Jasper POV and Bella being, well, Bella I guess.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it, please drop a review if you did?**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

What kind of idiocy have you succumbed to?!" Were they not contained in the back of Edward's Volvo, then Rose would have undoubtedly began tearing through whatever she could get her hands on. As things are, Edward and Emmett are removed from the situation up front and it's Alice that finds herself sitting smack bang between the fuming Rose and guiltily not guilty Jasper. She'd seen it coming, but that doesn't make the situation any more pleasant to be in. Edward catches her eyes in the mirror, a knowing smirk to his lips and Alice sticks her tongue out in return. Sitting between Jasper and Rose when the tension is running this high is far from ideal. Alice does not want to be here, does not want to have to face this, but, but...

There's pale lips in a smile, a wave of contentment as the sun shines down and they do not sparkle.

Bella's laugh echoes in her ears as she comes back to the present and Edward has swerved, pulling up just off the road in order to spin around and stare at her without any form of interruption.

"What was that."

"You saw it?" Alice chirps, bouncing forwards in her seat and ignoring the warring blinds completely, all but wiggling in her seat. It all keeps coming in quick flashes and snippets, rapid-fire slices of life that she can never quite bring up to show after they've happened. It's not from a lack of trying, that's for sure. Edward is staring, a clear light in his eyes and finally, finally someone is starting to understand why Alice is so insistent that Bella's important. She's looked, she's search and stared into the future and the never ending expanse of possibilities. It's only with Bella Alice and we'll, only with Bella a'okay and friends with them that this kind of impossibility occurs. She's seen it, seen every outcome that could come about and yet there's always more to see. In each and every vision... they're happy. Happy and brimming with hope.

"Alice-"

"That is why we need Bella," Alice states, finality clear in her tone and Edward just watches, his gaze steady but a slow acceptance coiling from his form.

"What did you see?" It's Emmett who asks the question, voice near a whine with the level of curiosity within it. Rose's gaze is hard and heavy, the weighty world upon Alice's shoulders and all the deer can do is just grin and bear it; it'll become clear to her soon enough. "Come on, tell me!" Well that is most certainly a whine and Alice would never normally indulge the vampire. However, Edward has managed to get a sneak peek, what could one more hint help?

"Hope, Emmett. It was hope."

It doesn't put the argument off indefinitely, just until Edward starts up the Volvo again and they set off down the road. Luckily, with how far the house is from the centre of town, there are few people traversing this road right now. Still, the moment of silence is nice, while it lasts. As usual, it's Emmett that breaks it with his usual level of tack.

"Why did'ya agree to go with Alien Chick anyway, Jazz?" Rose's already dark mood blackens and Emmett's giant shoulders hunch down, the hindsight realisation that he will be further banished from their shared bedroom hitting home too little too late. The poor fool has already been sleeping on the couch for far too long in Alice's opinion. Then again, she has no true idea of how she'd feel in a relationship. Involuntarily, her eyes slide to Jasper, venom pooling in her dry mouth that she hastily swallows back. There had once been the opportunity for something, only... patience has offered greater rewards for both of them. A great deal is out of her hands now, a choice she has made if not happily then with a tentative hope. It's a change when she's not the deciding vote on future events. It doesn't make sitting beside Rose's stewing resentment anymore pleasant.

"She's... pleasant to be around."

"Oh my god, you are high on Bubbles."

"Don't call Bella that," Alice groans, even though she's well aware that Emmett has solidified his claim of intent regarding friendship with the human by slapping a nickname on her. From the set to her face, Rose has recognised this too and appears to be attempting to burn holes in Emmett's head. Which, you know, means she's not trying to burn holes in Alice's head in order to get a clear shot at Jasper.

"What about your control."

"I don't really think you have much ground to stand on, Edward." And just like that, the tension in the car wretches up another notch, Jasper's statement meeting Edward's question as their eyes lock via rear view mirror. Alice could do without all this postering, all this huffle and fuffle. She already knows nothing bad is going to happen, they'll be no accident and without the presence of other vampires to inflict further strain on Jasper's own bloodlust... yes, that could work.

"It's simple, Carlisle and Esme will offer to chaperone the dance," Alice declares, hands clapping together as everything comes into alignment in her mind. Yes, that'll all work rather well, quite frankly. Though she's sad to miss a dance and an opportunity to dress up, well, there'll be plenty of those in the future. This'll be a good step for Jasper, a solid way to build his confidence and time with Bella will certainly do him some good.

"I can't believe you are encouraging this madness, Alice. The girl might not be at vampire yet, but it's only take one slip and then it's all over."

"We'll be careful, both with ourselves and her." Slipping her hand over Jasper's, Alice gives it an encouraging, supportive squeeze, feeling the marble like muscles relax minutely beneath her grasp. The sensation of his skin, of those scars are still strange to the touch ( and oh, there would have been a life where that was nothing but normal if Alice hadn't had the patience) so she returns her hand back to its partner and places both primly in her lap. The leather bracelet, dyed strands woven into a five part pattern (a thank you gift from Bella) clashes horribly with her outfit. Alice has yet to take it off.

"And the Volturi?" All five of them take a moment to consider that, a solemn still air entering the space between them.

"Well, the Volturi rarely leave Italy unless something has gone very wrong. And if that's going to happen, I'll catch it."

Rose doesn't talk any more on the way home. It isn't until they get back and Jasper disappears to hunt that they realise the Southern vampire had never really expanded on his reasoning for accepting Bella's request.

.

* * *

.

There's the ring of the doorbell, shrill and sharp and certainly unexpected. Shoving the last pin into her hair and glancing in the mirror, Bella skedaddles down the hallway, almost slipping on the wet patch she'd not bothered to clean up that's been left from her boots earlier that day. Yanking open the door produces not the stressed out Jessica she was expecting or even an unannounced Billy Black (even though there's no game on tonight, but Bella cannot deny the possibility of them changing it up and watching the hockey or something instead) she would have not expected but not been surprised by.

Instead, Jasper Hale is there, hands held formally before himself with a flower corsage between his fingers that matches the blunted yellow of her dress perfectly. Bella blinks but he doesn't disappear, instead a shallow smile slowly begins to surface on his mouth, the rain pouring off of the porch to land on the drive behind him. The tops of his shoulders are sprinkled with little wet patches, droplets residing in the half curls of his golden mane. In all honesty, something had been nagging at the back of Bella's head, insisting that Jasper wouldn't show, that for some reason or anther he'd pull out of accompanying her. Bella's not too shabby at dancing on her own, but it's nice to know she won't have to break out those questionable skills.

"So, you're more courageous than I was expecting of a senior." Grinning, Bella steps back and to a side, gesturing for Jasper to make his grand entrance to her household. He does so almost gingerly, flashing another small smile her way and Bella cannot possibly have her own grow any larger. Jasper Hale looks so very out of place in her hallway and it's not just because of how pretty he is. It's the way he holds himself, as if should touch anything this whole facade of being human will fall apart in these working, naturally human surroundings. Too big. His presence is too big for this place and he doesn't fit in the slightest. Awkward nonhuman. It's adorable. Bella's still pretty set on alien (shape-shifting alien is her best bet given the lightening and darkening eyes and the fact they've got human faces but they're not quite right) but she's adaptable. Tonight is about having a good time, for both her and Jasper. If she happens to gather some facts to clear things up, well that'll be a bonus. It'd not been her intention when inviting him and she's not about to let it take over the night either. Which means making him feel comfortable. "You wanna come take a seat in the living room, or is this as far as your bold heart will venture?"

"I'm feeling brave tonight, Darlin'. A new frontier, an' all."

"Ah, he sticks with the cowboy theme! I hope you know you're never shifting that nickname now," Bella declares, poking her fellow student in the arm and valiantly ignoring how little give his biceps have. She wouldn't be surprised if it's all compact muscle or simply non-human physiology. Whatever, she flexible. In more ways than one but that's not how she should be looking at Jasper Hale's shoulders so she shoved that thought aside.

"Bells? Whose does that voice belong to?" Shoving her way into the living room, Bella eyes the semi-sensible heels waiting for her by the couch before she turns her gaze to the lump of chief occupying it.

"It's my target. Dad, Jasper Hale. He's one of Hot Doc's kids." Her father groans, running one hand down the side of his face. The motion dislodges the pretzel crumb he'd had stashed in his moustache and Bella just eyes the offending snack evidence until Charlie brushes it aside.

"Doctor Cullen, Bella. It's Doctor Cullen."

"Doctor Cullen, Hot Doc, doesn't matter. We all know who I'm referring to." Beside her, Jasper Hale huffs a small, gruff sounding laugh, rusty in a way that indicates he doesn't get to do that too often. She does her best to not flick him a nervous glance but it happens regardless. She hadn't intended to end up introducing him as a date would and she's hoping it won't spiral out of control. They're on a friendly date, that is a date as two people who might come away from it as friends. That's what she'd been gunning for anyway. Meeting the one parent present isn't exactly friend date protocol.

"Regardless, Jasper, my dad, the pretzel thief."

"Hey now!" Snorting at Charlie's half-hearted protest, Bella goes about swiftly shoving her feet into her shoes as quickly as she can, so as to restrict her father's time scale of eyeballing Jasper. Thankfully it seems the Southerner is made of stern stuff (though she supposes he has to be in order not to melt in the sun down there... dependent on where he comes from, she guesses) because her company for the dance doesn't so much as shuffle his feet.

Instead, he greets her father with a formal, "Sir," and a shallow dip of his head. Almost military like. No, she doesn't swoon (okay, well, maybe a little bit). Bella shoots to her feet, perhaps a little too fast because her ankle gives an irritatingly coltish wobble and it's only by Jasper's timely intervention that she doesn't end up face first on the floor.

"Keep an eye on her, Mr Hale. She's practically a fawn in those things."

"I'd have given you an advance warning, but then I might not have snagged you as arm candy for the night," Bella admits, utterly unbothered with confessing her deception aloud. After all, who would want a potentially klutzy hazard of a partner for a school dance? Egos are fragile; delicate little glass baubles that can break and shatter under the slightest pressure. Well, most are.

"I've quick reflexives." The Southern accent leaks back through in a way that seems to indicate Jasper'd have loved to tagged another Darlin' on the end of that, but choked the word down in the face of her father's potential reaction. Cute. He still looks incredibly uncomfortable to be here in this setting but she's pretty sure her dad's just chalking that up to 'dealing with parents of the date' nerves. Well, if anything, it'll be a nice ego boost for him.

"And I totally believe that. Don't wait up, Dad, I'm off to Jess' to spend the night gossiping after the dance. I'll see you tomorrow."

.

They're going to the dance in the Cullen Volvo. She'd been reasonably certain it was Edward's but now she's not too sure. Maybe it's a family car for the teens to use? Maybe Edward lent it out for the night? She can't say for certain. But Bella can declare it's the nicest damn smelling car she's ever found herself seated in. That includes Phil's brand new convertible that'd had the signature new car smell. Can aliens smell nice? Or is that a superhero thing? Surely it can't be a 'cold one' thing. None of the Cullen clan have red eyes... pushing those thoughts to a side yet again, Bella finds herself babbling, speaking on anything and everything that captures her interest. She speaks of childhood adventures with Jake, trampling through the wilderness beneath the keen eyes of their parents, discovering bugs and all manner of creepy crawlies that her mother had squirmed over being presented with.

As she talks, Jasper ever so slowly opens up too; it's like delicately peeling an orange. She's managed to remove the difficult outer casing and, soon enough, her date for the dance is now sharing how he and Emmett had ended up wrestling the last time they went camping. Jasper had won that match apparently, though Bella will take the potentially biased result with a grain of salt. Emmett is a big fella and while Jasper's not exactly short (he's over six foot but heaven help her if Bella's ever asked the exact numbers), he's not mountain material like the other male is. Then again, Alice'd stopped a van with her tiny hand... strength is a questionable measurement with these guys.

"Mud wrestling is nothing. What you really need to try is a mud slide."

"Mud slide?" Jasper repeats, eyes still on the road but there's a warmth of amusement to his tone. The climate control roars between each moment of speech, the hot air kissing at Bella's face as surely as it puckers up to Jasper's. It smells crisp, pulling in the outside air and heating it right before blasting them in the face. It's pleasant.

"Oh yeah. 'Bout half a mile from my house there's a hill in the forest that'll have a sort of trough carved out; I've been going down that thing on a repurposed snow sledge every summer I've been here. It's quick and I can even stay in half the time now." Jasper laughs again, that same low sound and Bella relaxes a little more into the leather of her seat. This right here, this is nice. She glad she decided to punch above her weight because it seems to be going well enough right now.

.

* * *

.

He'd not been wrong, it is a delight to be around Bella. But even she is struggling to compete against the curiosity cocktail that is the emotions of a hundred or so other teenagers. Jasper's aware his face is probably pinched ever so slightly and he prays Bella thinks nothing of it. He's also hoping she's not noticed just how few breaths he's taking. Maybe he has pushed himself too far too soon. But Alice had given him the go ahead, had indicated she'd not seen a major upset that'd snowball from accepting Bella's invitation. It is only with his vampiric hearing that he catches Carlisle's soft question, asking if he's alright. He manages to meet the good doctor's eyes, manages a shallow, unnoticeable to the humans, nod.

"You know, if you didn't want to come, you didn't have to say yes." Bella's standing right next to him and she's been a good date so far, asking him for one dance before she bustled them over to the open windows the hall boasts. Perhaps there is something to his posture that suggests crowds are not optimal for him. He straightens his spine and shoulders, meeting Bella's wide eyes as she peers up at him, her lips pressing against one another. It's not that he didn't want to come to the dance, but it's not that he did want to either. It's more...

"I agreed because I wanted to spend some time with you, Bella." That's the truth of it. Even among the rest of the Cullens, they're not exactly a source of constant positivity. Then again, neither is Bella. While she is one of the brighter lights he's met in his years, it doesn't mean she's a constant core of contentment. Right now, for example, there's a nervous anxiety bubbling from her. What is different is that, as far as he can tell, she's anxious over him. No, not over him, for him. Considerate. That's the word; there's so few humans that are ever genuinely considerate for vampires. Bella's a bit of a novelty and he's not the only one who has noticed that.

"Are you claustrophobic? Or is it the crowds that're less than ideal?" Bella's hand is warm when she takes his own, soft and terrifyingly prey like in his palm. It'd only been two hours ago that he had snapped the neck of a mountain lion, a creature boasting as much muscle mass as Bella probably has total mass, if not more. Alice had been right, they would have to handle her delicately. He still has no idea just what it was the female vampire had seen in her vision and Edward hasn't exactly been open to sharing it either. But the subtle little looks the two shared, as if they were in on some great big secret that revolved solely around Bella... he's curious.

"A little of both, Darlin'."

"Well, that's easily solved." And then she's pulling him towards the exit. Jasper doesn't stumble, it's not in a vampire's nature to do such a thing. However, there is a moment where he is rooted to the spot before he can make himself as pliable as possible to follow after the girl. The last thing he needs is Carlisle coming over because he's accidentally enabled Bella to pull her shoulder from her socket trying to move his stubborn self. The silk-cotton hybrid material of her dress swishes between her legs, the short capped sleeves doing little to hide the small scratch that decorates the curve of her left shoulder. It's half healed over, the lingering scent of congealed old blood (which he can deal with) mixing with the tree bark she's not quite managed to fully wash out.

"Bella, what are you doing?"

"Sorting the crowd issue. That, and I've always wanted to dance in the rain."

Then they're outside, the double doors protesting as they swing on their hinges, the lead vocals over the background symphony of pattering rain. Bella's out under the night's sky, head tilted up with the gentle droplets sprinkling down on her skin. Almost right away whatever mascara she's used starts to run (he can all but hear Alice mumbling in his mind about cheap products and water resistance and you get what you pay for) but her grin doesn't slip in the slightest. But the smells are wilting, dull beneath the soft onslaught of rainwater from above. It smooths the punch of Bella's perfume, washes away the taste of concealed blood that has been lying in wait on Jasper's tongue. So when Bella takes his other hand, Jasper uses the hold to pull her closer, until there's a few inches between their torso and they're swaying back and forth. There's a curl of hair steadily plastering to the middle of his brow and Bella's grinning up at him with brown eyes that're dappled with a subtle green inner ring around each pupil.

"Is this better?" she shouts over the constant march of raindrops and the steady thrum of music that escapes the hall's open windows. She's bubbling again, that same sparkling optimism that could perhaps be best visualised as fresh champagne in a clear glass and Jasper is dangerously close to succumbing and getting drunk. Out here, it's just her emotions and she's having such a good time, enjoying herself and enjoying his company and he cannot help but to bounce off of such a sensation, to allow it to fuel him. It's acres away from Maria's darkness, the Newborns' hunger and selfishness, the discontentment of wandering the continent and the tired acceptance that came with Alice finding him. It's not the steady comfort of the Cullens, it's not the content he's slowly come to believe is the best he'll ever get. It's... it's ridiculous, it's stupid but it taste like hope, bubbling through him in a way that little has managed since he woke up to three females that'd been the last thing his human eyes had seen. It's obvious now, Jasper thinks as he lifts a hand and it's all the encouragement Bella needs to spin under it, why Edward and Alice had been such live-wires in the Volvo last week. They'd gotten that flavour of hope too. Over what, Jasper could not possibly say. But it is there, he has sampled it too. The crowd may have been uncomfortable, the way the material of his shirt and formal dress pants stick to his limbs is undesirable. He's glad he accepted Bella's invitation. As long as he's careful, friendship with a human, friendship with this human, seems entirely possible.

"I have a few ideas what you Cullens are," Bella suddenly states, still swaying back and forth even as Jasper stalls. The small pulls upon his arms are the only movement as Bella continues to dance. "Aliens, superheroes, cold-ones, hell, you could be part-time mermaids when you get near the sea for all I know. That'd at least explain your voices. Honestly, I'm not bothered. There's been no suspicious disappearances around Forks since you moved here, I checked my Dad's files. I think, what I'm trying to say is that I don't really care what you are? Because I know Alice is kind, Edward's a little weird but he's nice enough, I've not spoken much to Emmett and Rosealie but Emmett seems like he'd be a hoot to know. And you're lovely. Like, Southern charm is cute but you're brave and well mannered and you were even willing to deal with crowds when you don't like them. So, you're Jasper Hale and I'm Bella Swan who would like to be friends with the strange blond Southerner." It's odd, how even with his brain it doesn't quite jump right to an answer, that it's still spinning over how very close she got (cold ones, how does she know that specific terminology? He's aware that Billy Black is friendly with Chief Swan, but to the point of sharing tribe tales?) before she deviated to part-time mermaid. Try as he might, keeping the small smile from his lips is impossible. Once in his life he threw caution to the wind and agreed to follow the strange little female that'd turned up in his life and demanded he follow her. Despite all his previous experience with female vampires, despite the hesitance that'd come with being in a new land and the trepidation of waiting for a war that wasn't present to drag him into its games. He'd gone along with the seemingly crazy girl and... and life had improved. He'd climbed up from that terrible hole of despair that's been filled with all his demons. He can take one more risk.

"The name was once Jasper Whitlock, Ma'am, and I'm not a part-time mermaid." Bella laughs, a delighted and absurd sound, her eyes bright and clear and altogether far more human than any other he's looked into for years.

"I'll stick with Cowboy," she muses, tapping at the tip of his nose with her pointer finger, with absolutely no idea just how dangerous his mouth is, no idea of how the last human who got so close to his face had met a very grizzly end, probably with more blood than Bella's ever seen in her life. It's ignorance and ignorance can get fragile little humans killed. Not that telling her would give her a better chance of escaping a vampire hiring her, not when she's only a regular human but... but Alice said she was important. Insisted, actually.

"Bella. If you ever see someone like us with red eyes..." Jasper trails off because what can he tell her to do? To run? She'd be run down; it'd be laughably easy for any vampire worth their salt. No, the best bet of keeping the fragile little human full of positivity safe is to protect her themselves. "Let us deal with them."

"Red eyes... so, cold-ones, huh?" Bella finally stops dancing, sucking her lower lip in before huffing out a breath. While her eyes are cautious, she's not yet running for the hills. What a lacking sense of self-preservation. "Give me some time to digest that? I'll not blab if you don't turn me into a snack, alright?"

"We only drink from animals, Darlin'."

"Sounds good. I'm gonna go find Jess, I'm staying with her tonight. But, thanks. For a fun night, I can tick 'danced in rain with a cowboy' off of my bucket list." She winks, claps him once on the shoulder (she has to perch right up on her tiptoes to do so and would've toppled right over had he not caught her elbow, but she doesn't flinch from the support either) and then saunters back off into the building.

Watching the wet strands of brown hair disappear around the corner, Jasper can't help but huff a chuckle, one that could pose uncomfortable questions about his sanity. He's never seen a movie nor read a book where being left in the rain after what could have been a romantic moment leaves a person instilled with such a sensation of hope as he feels right now.

.

It's as he's sitting in the car, indulging in the heating as he waits for Carlisle as Esme to finish to chaperoning, that he finds more traces of Bella than her scent and the few hairs she'd shed in the passenger seat. She's drawn a smiling sunshine into the condensation on the car window, markings that are bleeding into existence despite her missing presence.

Hope.

It's a funny word, he's not even quite sure what it is he's hoping for. But, just like how Edward and Alice had said it previously, it feels remarkably positive.

* * *

 **Quick update while I'm on holiday. Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews; they're a pleasure to read.**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"I still can't believe you left early because you don't like crowds. Why did you even come to the dance?" Edward lifts his head as the buzzing mind of Jessica Stanley waltzes into the cafeteria, Isabella Swan walking along right beside her. She's sporting bruises, injuries gained from a fall on Jessica's porch steps after the dance. He's not quite sure why the other girl had felt to the need to gossip after the event and neither is Bella. Admittedly, Edward should have been able to glean some ideas given his ability to read minds. He's still clueless.

"I have a policy of always trying something at least once before I let my opinions settle. Besides, it's not my fault Fork's school hall is hella small." Once again brimming with positivity and a zest for life Edward had thought the majority of the world long past experiencing, Bella bounces up to her regular table, plonking herself down on her usual stool with a wide grin and an eagerness to devour her pasta-based lunch that Edward will never get the chance to comprehend. He can't recall if he ever sampled the popular Italian cuisine in his human life and there'll be no enjoyment from dining on such a thing in this life. Bella must sense his (their; all of them are shooting covert glances her way) eyes on her. She straightens, a gazelle in the wildness who has sensed the predator's interest has fallen solely upon her shoulders. She twists, and Edward does not allow himself the opportunity to turn away from her, instead meeting her curious look with an even stare. Just to see what she would do. As usual, she bucks all expectations he has of her to duck down and ignore his weighty gaze and instead she waves at him. It's an excessively obvious motion and he almost wants to hang his head in shame for being the recipient of it.

"That's it," Emmett hisses, shoving his cafeteria slop aside and rising to his feet, "I'm tired of not being involved in this." Even Rose's hasty, furious growl doesn't deter the biggest vampire among them from making his way over to the very startled collection of girls. Beside him, Alice huffs out a little laugh, a light giggle that doesn't leave the general vicinity of their table, a smile on her face as Emmett muscles his way into the seat that would have otherwise been occupied by the startled Mike Newton, who can do nothing more than stare form his place in the lunch line. He's just another insecure teenager and Edward does feel a little sorry for him; it's in the nature of teenagers to grasp at the shiny new oddity present in their lives. It's why Mike believes himself to be enthralled by Bella right now.

On the table that is suddenly the centre of everybody's attention, Bella looks delightfully surprised, eyes wide and lips parted before she recovers. She hoiks her bag up and off the stool beside her just in time for Emmett to replace it. Edward flicks a quick glance to Alice in askance but the small vampire just waves away his concerns, forcibly removing her own gaze from the scene to give an illusion of privacy. As if all the vampires in the room aren't going to be earwigging every last line spoken on that table now.

"Hey, I'm Emmett. What're your intentions with Jasper?" Cutting straight to the chase then. Why on earth would he expect anything less from Emmett? The younger vampire is well aware of how bulky and intimidating he can look, often using that to his advantage whenever necessary. To the humans, he's the most physically intimidating. Because, of course, it's Jasper that terrifies the venom out of other vampires, given the vast array of scars that span his body. Sometimes, when he's hunting and catches sight of the other vampire from the cover of his eyes, even Edward tenses up before his brain registers, he knows who that is. There are so terribly few vampires who can survive the number of fights that Jasper has, after all. Yes, for vampires, Jasper is without doubt the most intimidating. For humans…

Bella stares at Emmett with wide brown eyes, brain skipping in an attempt to catch up with the question. When it does finally register, she laughs, bright and bold and brilliant. Planting her cheek down onto a closed fist, elbow on the table, she wiggles her eyebrows at the vampire, as if he's not currently disturbing the fragile peace between the other occupants of the table.

"I wanna show him a good time, if you get my drift."

Emmett laughs as Edward grimaces, looking to Alice with a pained expression. Even if he can read the joking attention from her mind, it's still a crude comment. This is what society has degraded into, after all.

"Oh ho?"

"Yeah, making friends through good experiences; the life goal is to gather enough friends that I can use the power of friendship to kill a god."

"I like the attitude. Lofty goal though." Planting his own arm down on the table with a thump that's perhaps too loud for a limb meeting table-top, Emmett considers Bella through eyes that indicate he's freshly fed. "Now, I gotta know, is it Edward, Alice or Jasper you've got the hots for? 'Cause I honestly can't tell."

"You mean I can't have all three?"

At that, Edward does startle, head shooting up and spinning around to look directly at Bella. Her attention, however, is completely on Emmett and, while he cannot see through her eyes, Edward is more than capable of reading her mind right now. The sheer surprise that Emmett is currently exhibiting on his face is clear enough even the humans can read it.

"Greedy! That hilarious and I still have no fucking clue if you're serious, Sunshine. Name's Emmett."

"Bella, but Sunshine is fantastic, and I'm honoured to light up your day."

"Ha, you make me sparkle, Bella." And he needs to stop talking, right now. Rose clearly believes the same thing for she rises from her feet, crossing the cafeteria perhaps a little too fast in order to collar her wayward husband. It appears as if Rose's presence is the signal to kill all conversation; the boys too dazed and the girls too intimidated by her appearance. Even Bella.

"Well, see you around, Sunshine."

.

* * *

.

The day rolls on much as an armadillo would, bouncing over all the uneven path that lays before it with all the grace of a fish on land. People are giving her side-eyes and all Bella can do in response is give them a bright grin, utterly unsure why Emmett Cullen had seen fit to interrogate her in front of Fork's High's gossip monger. Jess hasn't left her alone at all, seemingly unable to believe that Bella hasn't somehow magically orchestrated the Cullen clan's interest. Probably with some kind of witchcraft. Hey, it's not out of the realm of possibilities, given the whole 'Cold-Ones' thing Jake had so helpfully clued her in on.

Perhaps more pensive than she has any right to be, Bella makes her way over to Ol' Red, a bounce in her step but a frown to her face. The sky is still covered by a thick blanket of clouds, tucked away ready for nightfall. It may be March, but the lingering touch of winter still persists in parts.

"Bella."

Peeling her key free from the depths of her pocket, Bella flicks her gaze up to find Jasper Hale, in all his sweet, Southern glory, leaning against the chipping paint of her trusty truck. A worn brown jacket hugs at his broad shoulders, a butter-soft leather that stretches across the swell of his biceps in a way that Bella perhaps pays a little too much attention to. Hey, it'd a hard job for anyone to ignore the man that's currently relaxing back against her ride like he's on the set of a photoshoot instead of a school parking lot.

"Hello, Jasper. I hope the humans haven't discomforted you too much today."

At this, Jasper Hale smiles, that same high-definition thing she'd been treated to upon asking him to the dance. It's a KO attack, floors her mind so that when he enquires if they can talk, her mushy shell of a brain can do nothing but comply before the words even register. Her non-human friend seems to register this as well, for his gives an apologetic dip of his head, all bashful long eyelashes fluttering away. As if he isn't too tall for the looking through his eyelashes thing to work. Magically, he still manages it, despite the significant height difference between the two of them. Holy hell, she needs to get him to teach her that. That look is killer.

"Not catching a ride with the rest of the clan?"

"I was rather hoping for some privacy to talk, Darlin'."

"Cool, privacy is a'okay with me. Especially since your sis is sending me the ugliest look I've even seen. Which is odd as hell because she's an utter bombshell. How can she even twist her features like that?"

As if capable of hearing that comment across a carpark and stretch of schoolyard, Rosalie Hale sneers. Bella offers a shallow little wave back, just enough to kind of showcase she has only a small incline of whatever Jasper wants to speak on. It's why she jams her key into the lock of Ol' Red, peeling the door back with only the weakest of protests from her rust-bucket.

"Wanna chat as I give you a ride home, if that's easier for you?"

"As kind as that would be, Bella, I feel you'll have a few questions for me."

"Right, cool. Considerate then. Either that, or you're gonna drop a life-changing bombshell on me and don't trust my ability to focus on the road." Jasper Hale only smiles at her words, giving no indication that she has guessed correctly or incorrectly. Which, yeah. This could be interesting. But she's going to be learning something new, something about the world she is now in (or is this actually her previous world and she has access to secrets that she never did before?).

.

Incredibly conscious of the entire Cullen clan (minus the obvious one) watching her drive out the carpark with Jasper Hale in her passenger seat, Bella shoves Ol' Red into his highest gear as she hits the open road, not too sure where on earth she'll be driving to.

"Bit of a rough gear change there, Darlin'."

"Passengers don't get to complain, Sweetheart," Bella snipes back before she's truly thought about it and Jasper laughs. It's magical, a sound she can listen to for hours on end and never tire of. For 'Cold-Ones', they sure sound warm enough. Flicking a quick glance at the non-human that currently shares her space, Bella has a split second to take in the vibrant honey of his eyes, the glimmer of his teeth, before she returns her attention to the road. While she's not sure if a crash will kill Jasper, it'll definitely do her in. She's quite happy living her best life right now, anyway.

"I don't need to turn you into a snack, do I?"

"I'll have you know I'm a legit snack already, thank you." Stopping at the traffic lights, Bella forces the shift into neutral, hefting the handbrake on before she risks another glance at Jasper Hale. He looks incredibly out of place in her rust bucket, but no more so than he did her home. Too big a presence, too… otherworldly. He doesn't fit in anywhere, she's found. No, that's not quite right. He fit in perfectly before she was informed he was anything but human, before he confirmed it himself. Now, now she cannot stop seeing him as something extraordinary.

"Excuse me?"

"It means I'm attractive and confident in myself. In ten or so years, it'll be a world-wide saying. I know it." The lights go green and Bella pushes Ol' Red into gear again, releasing the handbrake as she does so. Her passenger is silent, absorbing her statement, though Bella likes to imagine she can feel the amusement curling off him. "Do you mind if we swing by my house, so I can drop my bag off?"

"Go for it, Darlin'."

.

The rest of the journey's auditory experience is filled mostly by Bella's own tales, recounting her many adventures with her mother in all sorts of extra-curricular activities. Not once does Jasper Hale tell her to be quiet, nor give any indication he's anything other than a very attentive listener. He makes all the right noises in all the right places, asks the right questions where he should to prompt more of the story to fall from Bella's lips.

She's recounting the moment Renee had walked in on her attempting to paint her own bedroom walls when the pull up on her drive. The cruiser isn't present; Dad's still at work. By her own estimations, she's got a half hour before she has to start getting tea ready, an hour before Dad should be walking through the front-door.

"So, is this a conversation we can have in the back-garden, or is a closed-doors, Jess would spread rumours of what we're up to like wildfire kinda conversation?"

"The backyard will do," Jasper confirms with a smile, running a hand through the half curls of golden blond that tops his perfect little head. Ridiculous, how can he look so good at the end of a school day? Bella's relatively sure her own mascara (cheap brand though it may be) will have crumbled to cake the bottom of her eyes with panda like markings. Then again, she doubts Jasper wears mascara like she does. Maybe when she goes crawling home, Rosalie experiences the exact same thing. Though Bella' relatively certain that the other girl will look far more appealing lounging in her pyjamas than Bella would. Mainly because Bella can't do sexy if her life depending on it. Fun and flirty, yes. Seductive and sexy, no. That's fine, seductive and sexy isn't ever man's cup of tea, after all. There's gotta be some willing to get down and dirty with a fun and flirty.

Shaking her head, Bella comes back to herself as Jasper opens her door. She hadn't even noticed him getting out the truck, nevermind rounding the vehicle to open her door like the good Southern gentleman he is. She opts to leave her bookbag in the truck, making a silent promise to return for its contents once the visitor she, in some states, might have appeared to kidnap has left.

"Are you not nervous about being on your own with me, Darlin'?"

"I don't think I could stop you from hurting me if you wanted to, but you all come to school. If you wanted to be out and about hurting people, I don't think you'd bother with the human façade," Bella mumbles, gathering up the hulking mass of her hair and hoisting it up into a ponytail. A loose strand, missed by her useless fingers, brushes up against her left cheekbone and Bella determinedly ignores it. How cares about a loose lock when Jasper Hale seems as if he's willing to offer her the secrets of the universe? Or, the secret of being a 'Cold-One'. She's getting vampire vibes, but given the lack of red eyes and previously mentioned diet of animal blood, she's hesitant to make any assumptions.

"Race you to the swing!" Bella shoves Jasper in the arm but it does nothing to his stance, even as she takes off running for her intended target. Her lungs burn with the sudden challenge, booted feet eating up the distance between herself and the swing. But she blinks and misses the moment her companion moves, for one second the wooden board is void of all occupant, the next, Jasper Hale is standing on the plank as if he's been there all along. He'd moved so quick she'd missed it. Worse, he'd done so when she was within touching distance and her crappy human reflexes won't allow her to stop instantly. She crashes into him as literally as the word is implies, huffing out a startled breath with how the motion winds her.

"Holy hell, you're rock solid. Rock solid and quick. Both your non-humanness?" Dropping to sit back on the grass, Bella does her best to ignore how the wet dew seeps into the tough hide of her jeans, peering up at the occupant of her homemade swing. He even makes it look good, like it's purposefully rustic and not a 'I threw this together in half an hour' kind of bumpkinness.

"You can call it what it is, Bella."

"Cold-One-ness? I'm hesitant to use any other term, because that's the only technical term I've heard others use and I don't want to mislabel. Not that anything I'll say will change what you are, but I don't want to offend."

"Don't worry too much about not offending, Darlin'. It'll take more than a few inconsiderate words to offend me."

"Doesn't mean I should just blather on with whatever because you're not human though, does it?" Grinning, Bella forces herself up to her feet, grabbing hold of the swing and planting one foot on the wooden plank. Jasper hastily removes himself from her home-made contraption before she fully clambers on, standing tall and proud with both handles clenched in each hand.

"Vampires is the term we use for ourselves, Bella. Since you know the bare bones, I might as well flesh it all out for you. Especially because my family do not know that you're… well informed now."

"Hey, I can keep quiet. No one needs to know you've told me if it's gonna get you in trouble. I can play along like I think you're still human." At that, Jasper huffs a laugh, husky and low, as he leans back against the tree trunk. With his arms folded over his chest, he looks good. Too good to be just a friend; god, she hopes Dad doesn't come home early, otherwise he's gonna have awkward questions and she'll have to bluster through them without blushing. Which, given the lily-white skin she's been cursed with, will be impossible. And Jasper will probably laugh and she'll end up even redder… which might be a problem for the vampire. Oh. She'd never considered that; would blushing make him hungry? How does that even work, is it scent or sight based? Or both?

"That'd be a good idea, if Edward couldn't read minds."

"He can what now?" Shit. While she can't remember every thought she'd ever had on the Cullens, she knows there's been more than a few daydreams. "I'd say I'm sorry for every scenario I've ever dreamed up, but I'm not. You've got amazing shoulders and Edward's fingers are very pleasing. As is everything about Alice. Though I should probably prepare for your sister to gut me, given the handful of thoughts I've had on Emmett: I swear I'd never actually try it on with him, I know he's in a relationship and I'd never disrespect a fellow human being by trying to steal their man." Her hand has found the back of her neck and she's rubbing sheepishly, suddenly finding the wet grass below very interesting. It's hard to be embarrassed by the usual teenage stuff when you've got an adult's brain. Being called out on all the NSFW thoughts you've had on the pretty people in your life is a new experience though and Bella can already feel her cheeks burning away.

"My shoulders?" Jasper mutters around soft laughter, the kind that has Bella chancing a glance up to meet his warm eyes. "Bella, unless someone's onto our secret, Edward rarely discloses other people's thoughts to us."

"Oh."

There's a still moment of silence between them as Bella lowers herself down until she's sitting on the swing, fingers twiddling with one another in her lap before a sharp bark of laughter escapes her throat. "Man, I've just really dropped myself in that one, haven't I?"

"And what exactly have you been planning to do with my shoulders?" Jasper enquires around her own amused laughter, soft smile transforming into a dangerous smirk.

Twisting her weight about on the balls of her feet, Bella rocks back and forth on the swing, toes not quite leaving the comforts of the ground but coming close to doing so. "Well, it involves my legs going over them." Accompanying the words with a wiggle of her brows, Bella laughs again, fully pushing off the ground this time. She keeps her legs up, lets gravity pull her back and forth, the force of movement slowly dwindling.

"That'd be dangerous for the human." The words are spoken with a soft consideration, as if the topic's never been touched on before. What does Bella know of vampire relationships? Nothing. Given that she's relatively certain humans aren't supposed to find out about their predators (until it's too late and they're being drained of their blood), then there's probably never been any thought given to a human-vampire relationship. Which is a shame. Though, if all vampires look like the Cullen clan, she can see why no vampires ever go for humans. Not when they're all pretty and smart and just all around better.

"What else would be dangerous for the human in a human-vampire friendship? Just for future reference?"

"…You still want to be friends, even knowing this?"

"Of course," Bella murmurs, licking nervously at her lips and forcibly stilling the instinctive motion to start chewing at her lips, "just because you're not human, doesn't change the time we've spent together. Short as it is. We went to the school dance and we had fun and danced in the rain and you very kindly didn't point out how ridiculous I looked with mascara streaking down my face. That's a solid friendship foundation right there." Heels digging into the earth, Bella halts all the motions of the swing, taking care to meet Jasper's gaze. "So, tell me it all."

"Well, to begin with, we're fast. Fast and strong. I could untie this swing while you're still sitting on it."

"You could wha- HEY!"

.

* * *

.

He spends the next half an hour torn between informing Bella of all the aspects of vampirism he considers relevant to Bella and helping her create a better swing after he'd taken it apart. The look on her face as her ass had met the grass had been hilarious but Jasper had done his best not to laugh, instead grinning down at her from where he'd been lounging on the tree branch. She'd tried launching the plant of wood up at him but, with how it'd still been attached to the duo ropes, it hadn't gotten anywhere near him. Bella had laughed after once she'd clambered off of the floor, all awkward human movements. Up in the tree, her scent hadn't been so potent and he'd been able to draw in a longer breath, been able to watch her flustered face without the usual huger clawing at his belly.

"So, how much shit are you gonna be in with the fam once they realise you've told me everything?" Bella enquiry is innocent; she's not hounding for gossip, but her eyes are filled with a mischief that's rarely directed at him. Not unless it's coming from Emmett. It's no wonder the other vampire had introduced himself to her earlier today; they're two peas in a pod. Both mischievous, both full of energy. Heaven help them, should Bella become a steadfast fixture in their lives, the two are going to spend days trying to outdo each other. He's almost looking forwards to it, what with the emotions that'll pour out of them both. Rose may still be unhappy with how he cast his vote (not that two votes would have won her the argument anyway), but it is so very rare a chance when he gets exposed to nothing but contentment, nothing but bubbling happiness.

"A lot. Wanna be there when it happens?"

Bella laughs, the noise deep and clear. She's used to laughing, used to seeing the brighter side of life. It takes her a moment to realise he's serious.

"By god, you're serious. I mean, sure, why not? You're clearly cool with keeping the helpless human alive, Alice saved me from becoming a truck sandwich and Hot Doc-" hot what? "-will have taken the oath to do no harm. That'll be three who don't want to kill me and I like those odds. Is this your first time bringing a girl home, Jasper Hale?"

"Whitlock," he corrects absentmindedly, realising that she is indeed right. Alice had been the one to present him to the Cullens, not the other way around and they'd been the last additions to the coven. Bella will be the first new face in half a decade. Not to say that he is taking her there with the intention of having her turned but… he does want the rest of the family aware. To know they do not need to hide from one other person in Forks. He wants this friendship, Jasper realises. He wants to keep this easy-going interaction, to know a human but not have to hide himself. Even if it is all interactions, he is hyperaware of, it is nice to speak with someone new.

He'd never have thought to build an old-fashioned swing, but he'd enjoyed doing it.

"I could take you to the house tomorrow after school, if you want to meet Esme then?"

"Vampire mum? If she's half as nice as Hot Doc and half as pretty as you, I'm sure we'll get on fine."

"Try not to have any day-dreams about Carlisle's wife."

Bella chokes, near falling off the tree-branch she's spent the past five minutes straddling. He reaches out and gently corrects her posture, so there's no chance of her tumbling out of the tree. The last thing he needs is her cracking her head open. Edward would kill him and Carlisle would be very disappointed.

"I'll do my best. No promises though," Bella ruffles the one lock of hair she'd not managed to tie up, shifting along the tree branch until she's managed to get to the trunk. Jasper watches her work her way down, each careful movement calculated to ensure she won't fall. The second her feet touch the ground, he jumps down, landing with a muffled thump before the human at the tree's roots can even look back up to find him. Bella turns to the noise and scoffs, folding her arms and grinning all the while.

"We can build a swing in your garden too."

They don't need a swing in the backyard. It'll ruin Esme's aesthetic with the house.

The thought of that doesn't dissuade Jasper from thinking such a thing would be a good idea.

* * *

 **I live!**

 **So, some background on this story. When I first started writing it, I wasn't in a good place mentally (stress, bullshit with the people I was doing my last school placement with who were just awful, etc). Had a breakdown in my Mum's arms about 3 days after I posted Chapter 5.**

 **But, I started writing this because I want to be like Bella. I want to be that ball of sunshine and I figured that, if I had to put myself in the mindset to write, I could keep that going in life. And, I sorta can? I'm a lot happier these days, love my job and just enjoy myself. It's not 100% of the time, but it's enough that I'm now flouncing back to this fic to hopefully keep it going and (I hope) inspire other people to just grab life by the hand and take a stroll down the garden path smiling. IDK, I'm just feeling super cheesy right now,**

 **Thank you for sticking with this fic!**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Oh boy."

Flicking her gaze up, Alice Cullen meets the eyes of one Isabella Swan from across the carpark, her bones already crackling with energy. Just like Emmett, she's finally done with waiting around for her turn. It's why she's currently standing by the door to Bella's truck, Jasper leaning against the bonnet to her left, waiting for the human right across from them.

Bella's low mutter has travelled right across the carpark to her, echoing around in her ears, just as Jasper's low huff of amusement does. They're both well fed, Jasper more so than her, simply for the fact that they don't want to risk anything. It's good that Jasper's taken to Bella, things'd have been difficult if the family had tried to keep their distance. She's eager, more than she probably should be. Undoubtedly Jasper can feel that but Alice doesn't bother trying to hide it. The advances that'll come about because Bella knows about them, the ways she'll improve their lives; she can't wait. She honestly can't.

"Bella!" Waving one arm above her head in an overly exaggerated motion, Alice grins. The heels on her feet creek as she pushes that little bit further up onto her tiptoes and she doesn't force them to bend any further. They're one of a kind.

The human centre of her focus recovers quickly and begins jogging over, one arm above her head as she mirrors Alice's over-rambunctious wave. "Aaallliiccceeee!"

Beside her, Jasper turns away, unable to hide his amusement behind the clenched fist he tries to bury his laughter into. People are turning to stare now, even two of the passing teachers, not that Alice can blame them. High school usually means insecure teenagers trying desperately to fit in. They've probably never experienced someone like Bella bouncing into their lives, so clearly unbothered by anything and everything other than what makes her happy.

"Bella!" Alice calls a second time when the girl herself is half a foot away. The human oddity crashes into her, arms wrapping around her shoulders and it doesn't matter that Bella's near half a foot taller than flat-foot Alice, Alice remains rooted to the spot as Bella wraps her limbs all around her. At this point, Alice meets Jasper's eyes over the human's shoulder and makes sure to wiggle her eyebrows. The scowl he sends back to her is perfect.

"I didn't realise Jasper had called in reinforcements. Figured he'd be capable of kidnapping me singlehandedly." Peeling herself free, Bella Swan runs one hand through her hair before flushing. "Were you okay with that? Didn't push too far-"

"Hugs are fine with me, Bella. I can call you Bella, right? We're gonna be such good friends, I can tell." Bella grins, the corner of her eyes crinkling under the pressure before she turns to Jasper.

"Am I okay to hug you? Or is that pushing it too much?"

"I can manage a hug, Bella." Throwing her arms around Jasper's neck (and having to leap up onto the very tips of her toes in order to do so), Bella laughs into his chest as her human legs tremble with the effort of remaining in place. More people are staring now but Alice is relatively certain she's the only one that notices just how gently Jasper handles the human between them, his hands carefully placed around her back and almost hovering there. That way, he's ready when Bella steps back to look up at him.

"So, visiting the vampire coven today? Am I appropriately dressed? Should I have invested in a turtleneck or something?" She pulls at the collar of her shirt, exposing one sharp collarbone and Alice laughs, snatching Bella's hand away so she can wrap her fingers around it.

"A turtleneck will make no difference for us, Bella. Honestly, just be yourself. You'll win everyone over, no problem." Perhaps the sincerity Alice injects into her voice is enough, perhaps Bella's just that resilient in bouncing back but, either way, the human offers a big, bold smile before swinging their joined hands back and forth.

"Okay. Skip the turtlenecks, got it. That's good, they're itchy anyway."

.

* * *

.

The Cullens live well and truly off the beaten path. Maybe it's because of Hot Doc's oh so thankful patients; no doubt some pushy few have tried to find his household to offer up their most sincere thanks. Hell, if Bella had been half a decade older and unbothered by his wedding ring, maybe she'd have been among them. She's kinda excited to meet Mrs Cullen; surely, she'll be as much of a bombshell as everyone else in the family. Bella would be a bit nervous on the aesthetic front, had she not already accepted the fact she's playing ball in the wrong league. They're all vampires, cold-ones, whatever they want to call themselves. It's like trying to hold a horse and a lion to the same standard. They're just too different to even begin to compare them with a level head.

Eyeing Jasper from the edge of her vision, Bella considers the senior of questionable age beside her, all the while running her thumb over the back of Alice's hand in fascination. She's got the smoothest skin Bella's ever had the pleasure of touching,; her fingers are all dainty and almost fairy-like. It's hard to believe she's a vampire. Accepting the fact, she's something otherworldly comes easy.

"So, any no go topics? Should I not mention blood? Would that trigger anything? Wait, how does Hot Doc do his work if someone's haemorrhaging?"

"Please do call Carlisle 'Hot Doc' to his face," Jasper huffs, eyes never leaving the road but his lips twisting up at the corners. "And it's not a problem to mention it. Just try not to slice your finger open, Darlin', and we'll be just fine."

"So, is it the smell or the sight of blood that tempts you? Can you not watch horror films because it gives you hunger pangs?" Twisting to look for an answer from Alice, Bella cocks her head to a side and scratches lightly at her face. Beyond Alice, outside the window, the world whizzes by, a blur of green and browns as they venture further away from town. Wow, if Alice and Jasper were dragging her out here to commit the perfect murder, then they'd sure have the best chances at it.

"It's the smell, Bella. Vampires have exceedingly strong senses, so our eyes can detect the difference between the image of blood and the real thing. But it's mainly the smell."

"Ever tried essential oils dabbed beneath your nostrils?"

Both vampires pause, turning to look at her and Bella cringes.

"Eyes on the road, Cowboy, eyes on the road! Unlike some, I'm squishy and susceptible to death at high impact."

"Fifteen miles per hour would hardly classify as 'high impact'," Jasper mutters, taking a corner just that little faster and Bella scowls, clenching her fingers around Alice's but she might as well be seeking comfort from a rock, for all the give her hand has.

"Hey, are you as rock solid to each other, or does vampire skin have more give if it's a vampire doing the squeezing?"

"The second one. Excuse me; just gotta go intercept Rose." Alice is out the car before they've stopped, before Bella can even register that her little pixie hand has slipped free of her grasp.

Wiggling her lonely fingers, Bella turns back to Jasper as he forces Ol' Red into park, the internal mechanics screeching in protest. He looks as inhuman as ever, eyes a vibrant gold that glimmer even in cloud-blocked light. All golden half-curls, heavy brows and cupid's bow lips… Maybe Apollo would have been a better name?

"Hey, can you shoot an arrow?" The god of the sun who doesn't ever go out beneath his domain…

"Can't say I've ever tried my hand at archery, Darlin'." Yeah, it wouldn't work anyway.

"Well, there's one thing I can do better than you already," Bella concludes, unbuckling herself and shuffling along for the door. It whines the entire time she opens it and she pats at the side, offering a quiet promise to rub the old boy down in oil at some undetermined point in the future. The scent of nature hits her right away, wrapping around her as surely as a hole-ridden blanket; she wonders what it smells like to Jasper, what it smells like to the other vampires she's ended up in the acquittance of. It's utterly wild, to think that she, a regular human, has been pulled into a world of fantasy monsters who are far more attractive than any book before has ever led her to believe.

"So, I'm totally betting I'll zone out for, like, ten seconds before I get over how pretty your mum is. Thoughts?" Jamming one hand into the pocket of her pants, Bella meets Jasper's eyes with a grin. Above them, there's a gentle cloudburst, a fine mist of rain sprinkling down from the heavens. Bella tilts her head up, drinking in the sensation of cool water on her face before she turns her attention back to the task at hand.

"Fifty seconds."

"Fifty- Hey! I'm not such an utter incompetent that I'll end up staring at your mum for nearly a minute," Bella scoffs, jabbing Jasper in the side with her elbow. It's like hitting a wall; no, like hitting a rock. A wall, would offer a little give at the very least, there's none of that from Jasper. From his smug little smirk, he knows it too.

"Who else is in then?"

"Just Carlisle, if Alice has managed to entice Rose away." Right, so if both vampire parents appear at the same time, chances are good it's gonna be a full Bella knockout. Hey, she's honest enough with herself to acknowledge that. Ruffling a hand through her bangs, Bella squares her shoulders and then starts for the door, ignoring Jasper's husky little laugh beside her; stupid sun god. He probably looks even better in the sunlight… or, he might have done had he not been a vampire. Hell, she'd be skipping school if the great ball of fire that is the sun would vaporise her the second, she stepped beneath it's merciless gaze. Although, if that was the case, Bella probably wouldn't chance going out in the daytime at all. Maybe the sun isn't that bad of an issue after all, maybe it just, stings a little. Like summer sunburn, only worse.

Bella's gonna ask. Or, well, she was. Because that's when Esme Cullen appears at the door and Bella exe. cannot compute.

.

When she comes back to herself, Bella's sitting in the fanciest kitchen she's ever seen, a bowl of cold pasta in front of her and fork in hand, with yummy vampire mummy staring pleadingly at her.

"S'good?" she offers, still a little dazed.

Where he's leaning against the kitchen counter, Jasper grins, coughing and turning away to hid it her Esme Cullen turns to look at him. His muffled murmur of 'one-hundred and sixty-three' would be irritating, but… Bella doesn't care. This pasta is divine and she needs to recipe. Its tomato based, with some meat that could be either beef or pork. It's excellent, either way. Esme Cullen is still watching her, all warm golden eyes and soft smiles. Bella squirms in her seat. Don't get any ideas about Mrs Cullen. Don't do it. Edward can read her mind and it would be very, very bad if he saw exactly what she's picturing. No, Jasper's safer territory there; probably still not a good idea but he's not married… is he?

"Hey, Cowboy, you ever been married?"

"Married, Darlin'?"

"Well, yeah. You've lived a long time, right? Ever gotten hitched?"

"Lived a long time?" Esme's soft questioning comes before Jasper's answer and Bella lets out a nervous little laugh. Oops. That's right, Jasper's not told anyone that she's in the know, other than Alice it would seem. Though Alice seems like one of those little clairvoyants who just knows everything and anything. Esme gives off no such vibe. Other than righteous mother who's been left uninformed of important developments. With the way she slowly turns to look at Jasper, it's clear Bella's dropped him in it.

Well, drat. Hopefully this won't prevent her from getting invited back. Or her blood sucked out her body. Nah, she trusts Jasper to look after her, Alice too. Maybe Hot Doc can patch her up once the fight for the delicious red she brews is over? Always a silver lining an' all.

.

* * *

.

Bella has the most appealing blush covering her cheeks. It's almost enough to distract him from Esme's stern, searching gaze. Almost.

He had rather been hoping Alice would be here to soften the blow in that special way of hers, to reassure everyone that it'd all be okay, that she'd seen the outcome and everything was going to be just fine. However, she's still off making sure Rose doesn't come home to find the human invader, which leaves him dealing with the fallout of his own decisions.

He doesn't regret telling Bella, not in the slightest. Because there's been no change. Sure, she needed a bit of time to come to terms with it, but they're back to that easy going, casual friendship. Cowboy and Darlin', empathic vampire and human positivity. Jasper and Bella. The others may be upset, Esme may be concerned, but Jasper doesn't regret allowing Bella to uncover the full extent of what they are. Acceptance is so hard to come by; even among the other Cullens, there are times when they forgot themselves, when they catch a glimpse of him and his lacework of scars and they react. It's nothing personal, it's instinct. The sheer number of scars he boasts makes him dangerous, the largest threat among them. He can recall that one meeting with one of the Volturi guard, how they had watched him, cautiously. Curiously.

"Jasper."

"I told Bella about us," he admits, freely and with little hesitation. "She already knew we weren't human."

"I promise I'll do my very best to not bleed all over your house," Bella says solemnly, the serious intent of her words ruined by the pasta sauce goatee she sports. Jasper's lips curve up into a smile despite himself. He knows what Esme would like to say, he may not be Edward, but a person's emotions give them away often enough. This particular mix of surprise, worry and warmth make it clear enough. 'You should have consulted the family first, this is a very big issue, but I'm glad you've found a friend.' She cares too much, this younger vampire who poses as his mother. Physically, she is his elder, but Jasper has more than half a century on her. It is only Carlisle that dwarfs his own lifespan among this coven.

"I'm gonna build a swing in your back garden. Jasper said it was okay, so that's our plans today. It's great fun, would you like to join us?" Bella grins, head tilting to a side as she peels her hair back against her skull binding the dark strands in a loose ponytail. She's still a bit dazed, it's the only reason Jasper can think of as to why she's not quite bounced back to herself. She is recovering though; he can feel the emotions bubbling about beneath her skin, rolling atop one another.

"A swing?" Esme repeats, bemused. "I couldn't possibly intrude on an activity that you and Jasper have done before. While you're up to that, I'll find Carlisle." And update him to the current state of things. It passes between them silently and Jasper dips his head in acknowledgement, watching Bella inhale the last of her pasta.

"Alrighty then. We'll be out back if you need us, I guess."

.

Their house is surrounded by trees; it'd been one of Esme's requests when they moved. However, not just any old tree will do for Bella, it would seem. The girl begins by walking along the clearing, the bounce in her step increasing with every one she took. She pauses every so often, staring up at a tree with a dramatic squint to her features, as if weighing up it's worth before deeming it undeserving. Jasper watches her curiously, wondering just what is whizzing through her mind, all the while half his thoughts go to the outpour of emotions he can sense from the house. Carlisle's caution, his hesitance, Esme's swirling reassurance as Carlisle no doubt reassures her. Neither will want to worry Bella, to upset her in any way. No, the quiet interrogation of why he has chosen to disclose their secrets to her will come after Bella has left.

The soft thump of boot meeting trunk has Jasper looking to Bella, just in time to see her kick up the tree in order to scramble for the lowest hanging branch. She misses, and he's across the clearing just in time to catch her before she hits the ground. The meeting of his shoulder and her stomach still winds her.

"Ow. Ease on the goods, Cowboy," she breathes, laughter breathy as one hand pats at the top of his head. The steady thumping of her heart is dangerously close to his ears, the warms of her thighs pressing up against his chest. He's well fed, had ensured he was well-fed specifically because he knew Alice was going to ensure he followed through with his words and allowed Bella to come over. This bubbly little human who has inspired hope in their physic and their mind-reader. Holding his breath, Jasper manoeuvres Bella until she's sitting upon his shoulders and more than capable of reaching the branch she'd made a leap for earlier. He has both hands curled around her ankles when the throbbing of her blood registers, thighs bracketing his ears and the temptation is so dangerously close. He can see Carlisle at the window, looking down with some alarm. The elder vampire makes no move to come down, however. He's trusting him, Jasper realises. Trusting him to resist temptation, even though he'd been on this diet the shortest amount out of all of them, even though he'd been the one to fall off the bandwagon most often. It is for that fact alone that Jasper pushes down the urge to nuzzle against Bella's thigh, against her femoral artery. She'd probably take it the wrong way; he realises and laughs at the thought.

As if reading his mind, Bella tugs at a handful of his hair so he's tilting his head back to look at her as she says, "you know, this wasn't how I was expecting to get my legs over your shoulders." Determined to make her point that little bit clearer, she presses her heels back into his chest. Jasper pulls her ankles forwards, nearly throwing her right off him and Bella shrieks with laughter, grip on his curls tightening.

"Don't you dare! I'm a squishy innocent who only wants to make a swing with her weird new friend! No need to throw me off the six-foot marble mountain!"

"Innocent is hardly the word I'd use to describe you after yesterday's conversation, Darlin'," Jasper huffs out, spinning around once on his feet, fast for a human but with nowhere near enough speed that his human passenger will get thrown violently from his shoulders. Bella laughs again, louder and higher, hands still clinging desperately to his hair. While part of him hopes that Alice returns soon, that she can smooth things over with Carlisle and Esme… the other half of him is content to wait. They have a swing to make, after all.

.

Having ensured all the suppliers were present before heading off to school for the day, they get started right away. Bella remains on his shoulders the entire time; Jasper had only made one attempt to remove her, but she'd wrapped her arms around his head and whined that she wished to remain tall for the experience. Putting together the swing with her balanced on him hadn't been much of a challenge, but Bella had certainly giggled every time she'd dropped something. By the sixth time, Jasper had cottoned onto the fact she was doing it on purpose, which had only prompted the girl to giggle that little bit harder. But, finally, it was done.

Stepping back and away, Jasper considers the swing as Bella hums, fingers still in his hair. It's far more intricate than the one that resides at the Sawn residence, with curved metal handles attached carefully to the varnished planks of wood, though Jasper had been forced to curve the metal by hand so the swing sat right. That Bella had fanned herself as she mockingly swoon while he did so was neither here nor there.

"We've done good," Bella muses, planting both her hands on her hips; she's probably grinning. That sounds like the kind of sentence she'd say with a grin. Her emotions are certainly reflecting that.

"We? Pretty sure I've done most of the work, Darlin'." All Bella had really had to do with it was throwing the rope over the tree trunk and then making sure it was tied tight.

"Puh-lease, it was my wonderful idea." With that, Bella begins wiggling about, trying to clamber off his shoulders, no doubt in order to get on the newly finished swing. Jasper tightens his hold on her ankle, not enough to hurt, but firm enough that she can't slide free.

"What do you think you're doing, Miss Sawn?"

"I'm gonna Christen this swing with a good ol' leap and launch," she mutters, tone resolute, shaking her leg rather fiercely for a human. As if that has any hope of loosening his hold.

"I don't think so, Darlin'. Those who try for a free ride go second." He steps towards the swing, fully intent on sitting himself down, passenger on his shoulders or not. Bella squawks in animated fury, pulling at his hair but she's laughing again, breathless and her stomach flutters against the back of his head with each gasping breath.

"I had no idea you wanted my legs around your head so bad," she needles, tensing the muscles of her thighs as if to exaggerate her point. To which Jasper can only scoff.

"You know Carlisle and Esme are watching us from the window. They can probably hear everything you're saying."

"Well shit." And Bella waves jovially up at the house, as if she doesn't have a care in the world. This time, Jasper does turn his face into her thigh, but only so he can hide the laughter that threatens to bubble up out of his throat. She smells pleasant enough. He cannot imagine what it is like for Edward, who her blood signs so clearly too. It's why the younger vampire is off hunting; there's every chance his own bloodlust would ramp Jasper's up right alongside it, given his abilities. And, as it'd been Bella who approached him first, Alice had insisted it was only far he got to spend the majority of the day with her. Which, come to think of it, is probably the reason the little pixie of a vampire isn't around right now. It's almost shameful that it's taken him this long to click onto the fact.

"I was joking; Carlisle and Esme left the house ten minutes ago." Off to go and play the human charade, shopping for food they're never going to use. Not unless Bella comes around again. "The only killer vampire around right now is me."

"You little shit."

This time, when Bella gives a kick of her feet, Jasper releases his hold on her ankles. She shimmies down from his shoulders carefully, spinning so her legs are half wrapped around his torso before she managed to get her feet back on the floor. She brushes her jacket down, green moss displaced from the tree as they'd put up the rope sticking persistently to the cotton. There's no smile on her face, but Jasper can sense the contentment, the good-humour and soft appreciation for what they've managed to get done. For how they've spent the afternoon.

"You say you're killers, but don't humans kill cattle to feed themselves? It's just the natural way of the world. You can be likened to vegetarians; you're going for a food source that isn't your primary, simply because you don't agree with the standards the rest of your society hold other living beings to. As one of the aforementioned cattle, I think that's pretty neat." Bella grins, head cocked back and closed eyes curving up. Jasper flashes around her to the swing, taking a seat just to be contrary.

When his human companion opens her eyes, she stares at the space he had occupied before swinging around to face him, scowling good naturedly. She goes to kick him in the shin and Jasper takes care to trap her foot between his calves instead. A kick with that kind of force won't break her toes, but it'd certainly hurt for a few hours. If his capture of her foot prompted a loss of balance that sees her rump hitting the floor, well, that just makes it that little bit funnier.

"Hey, Cowboy. We're already friends, and you've told me your big secret-" Bella gestures to the expanse of space around them, fingers that're littered with long-healed papercuts spread wide. "-so, in order to become the best of friends, I'm gonna be just as honest as you were." Here, she rolls her bottom lip back into her mouth, teeth dragging across the surface as her eyes filter away. Nervous, thoughtful. But there's a slow coil of trust within her, trust for him. Trust he's never been given by anyone outside of the Cullen clan, outside of Peter and Charlotte.

Then, Bella's grinning again, pulling her hair free of the ponytail she'd had it in so she can fiddle with the bobble.

"I can remember the life I had before this one."

* * *

 **Like pullin' teeth; that was not the direction I'd been expecting this to go. Fifteen school days left 'till summer.**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Bella had not started her day with the intention of spilling her biggest secret to Jasper Whitlock. She hadn't thought to ever tell anyone about it in truth, had never considered anyone would believe her. But then she'd found out the hot-stuff she'd asked to the school dance was a vampire, as was the rest of his family (family, friends, coven, colony?) and keeping her own secret to herself hadn't seemed… Right? Fair? Sensible? Who knows, she certainly doesn't. What she does know is that Jasper listens to her patiently, his face giving nothing away to the point Bella offers up old family videos to prove she did indeed once have an English accent.

It's only as they're sitting in her living room, throw blanket draped over her legs and Jasper sitting on the rug, that Bella realises they've totally ditched Alice. Which, damn, she's wretched and will totally have to make it up to the cutest vampire she knows.

Hitting pause, Bella stares at the little girl on the screen with her too chubby limbs and rosy red cheeks before she turns her gaze to Jasper. He's full out grinning at her.

"I believed you from the start, Darlin'. I can sense emotions; I knew you weren't lying."

Spluttering, Bella throws the remote at her current company, scowling when it bounces off him with a crack, not unlike what would have happened if she'd thrown it at a wall.

"Then why did I just dig out the home-videos?!"

"Because I wanted to see if you were as clumsy a kid as you are now." Bella huffs, throwing the afghan at him this time because at least that won't break on contact.

What Jasper doesn't mention is the distinct air of depression that had surrounded her often as a young child, all drawn up from too deep thoughts as she'd drowned in her situation. What was the point in trying in life if it was all just going to reset? What was the point in getting attached to people if she'd just be ripped away from them and stuffed into a new body? What was the general point in life if it was one endless cycle of rebirths? She's in a better place now, Bella can admit. She's shed her English accent, managed to get a buzzing personality and even worked at getting a banging body. She's sassy, confident and proud. Not bad for a brat who'd suffered an existential crisis before she'd hit five years old.

"Well, you got your evidence. There's stew all down little-me's shirt and I'm relatively certain there's mash potato in her hair too," Bella mutters with a groan, rolling her eyes before flipping over onto the belly, pressing one cheek down into the sofa's worn cushion. She should probably bug Dad into getting a new one. Well, new to them, maybe technically second-hand.

"So, you still eat like a child then."

"Oh yeah, laugh it up," Bella huffs, cheeks puffing out as Jasper laughs, fighting down a smile of her own. "Like you can possibly claim to be a tidier eater than I am. I doubt you're getting your blood from a butcher's and drinking it down in a tea-cup. Though I would totally be down for a princess tea-party if that's the case. I'd look good in a crown." Eyebrows wiggling, Bella laughs again, even as her brain circulates to that little titbit Jasper had dropped a moment before. He can sense emotions, has probably felt her full range throughout the time they've known each other so far. God, she hopes those horny thoughts haven't translated to feelings. Then again, he'd said all vamps have enhanced senses. They've probably been able to smell it. Well, Bella can take comfort in the fact she's probably not been the only horny teenager that'll have put them off their lunch (prey?) with their scrambled emotions.

"I'm feeling pretty bad now. We totally ditched Alice."

"Alice'll have seen it coming, to an extent," Jasper murmurs, curling the afghan around his shoulders. He looked ridiculously out of place wrapped up within it. All beautiful, golden angel curls, slight dimples to his marble-sculpted cheeks, warm honey eyes. Wrapped up in her warn throw blanket of questionable colours. The sun god is huddled under her seven-year-old blanket and Bella has never wanted to take a picture of something as badly as she does now.

"So, is this it then? We know each other's darkest secrets; best friends or bust? I think I've got a pair of old friendship bracelets upstairs if you want a physical reminder." At that, Jasper does laugh, attempting to muffle the sound into the afghan with minimal success. With the frozen image of her childhood still on the screen, Bella finds herself with a desperate desire for some hot chocolate, the kind Dad had always made her whenever she visited at Christmas. She knows the recipe off by heart, but it's a shame she can't share the delicious cocoa drink with her vampire friend. Speaking of which-

"Hey, since we're best friends now, should I actually get some pig's blood from the butcher's so you've got something to drink when you're 'round here?"

Straightening, Jasper leans back against Dad's usual chair, the blanket slipping down one shoulder to expose the dark tee-shirt beneath.

"As thoughtful and kind as that is, Darlin', please don't. When we feed, instincts tend to take over. Out of all the Cullen's, I was the last to join this diet and my control isn't something I'd care to test. Not around you."

"Cool. Maybe after today I'll drill you for all the need to know stuff about vampires. Right now though, I'm gonna go grab a drink. Because, unlike your supernatural self, I can keep my head while indulging." Winking, Bella scrambles off the sofa, swearing when she stumbles over one of the cushions she'd deposited on the floor. She recovers, but only just, making for the door again. That's when something hooks around her foot and she trips, falling forwards with a shriek.

Jasper catches her just before she hits the floor face-first. He's not laughing, but the smirk on his face is undeniable.

"Thought you'd recover from that one."

"Just you wait. One day, I'll figure out a way to trip you up. See how you like it."

.

When Jasper leaves, she'd drunk two cups of cocoa, eaten three cookies and snapped twenty or so photos of the two of them. She'd tried claiming they were for a photo-album of her time here, but Jasper'd seen through her excuse pretty swiftly. So, with absolutely no remorse, Bella had admitted they were for her mum. Because the woman'd go mental knowing that she's got a 'Greek God of a best friend' and it'd drive her crazy over 'how good a couple they'd make'. It's those words exactly she offers to Jasper, whose blank-faced confusion makes the hassle of pictures worth it before she even sends them off via email.

That she has one of them (where she's got ridiculously round cheeks and cross-eyes next to the humorously stone-faced Jasper) as her phone background is neither here nor there. That she acquired Jasper's number (and by extension, Edward, Alice, Emmett and even Rosalie's) is another added bonus.

Staying up until Dad returns is no hardship; in fact, she welcomes him in with a soothing cup of camomile tea and a wide grin. Naturally, he's instantly suspicious.

"Bells. How has your day been?"

"Great. Went to the Cullen house, it's amazing by the way. Then Jasper came back here with me and we watched some of the old home videos before he left."

Charlie Sawn makes a considering noise, sipping loudly on the hot drink she has so lovingly provided him, moustache twitching.

"You got that one with the fairy-princess party to hand?"

"The one where I got Jake to dress up in full forest fairy regalia? It's labelled in neon, of course I have."

.

The next morning dawns low and slow, the sun rising. Or, Bella assumes it is, given a thick blanket of clouds once again engulfs the sky, leaving no blue untouched by grey. She's caught a ride with Jessica today, leaving the truck to the wayside and no, it's not because she's short on cash for gas. Okay, it's totally because she's short on that dollah-dollah. She needs a job and quick.

"So, what did you get up to yesterday, Bella? And don't dare deny you didn't do anything; I totally saw Jasper Hale getting picked up by Alice on your street."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Bella retorts, wiggling her eyebrows something dramatic to see the other girl's mouth drop open. Her face is a picture and Bella laughs, hoisting her bag further up her shoulders as they make for biology. The other brunette huffs, jabbing one finger in her direction with a firm scowl on her face. The stern look is ruined utterly by the bright, playful shine to her blue eyes.

"You listen to me, Miss Sawn. If you've managed to get Jasper Hale between your legs, then I want to know _everything_ about it. You can put in a good word for me to Edward."

"Bella's thighs were warm around my ears."

Both of them shriek in surprise, Bella instinctively reaching out to smack Jasper's upper arm. Her hand smarts with the action, palm throbbing in pain but she doesn't let it show, doesn't act like she's just hit a concrete wall instead of a former human's arm.

Her new best friend smirks, the burnt yellow of his hoodie stretching taunt across his shoulders in a tantalising distraction. Bella follows the motion of the fabric for a moment before she turns her gaze up to eye the amused vamp. His eyes are a violently bright gold and she's rather certain the ever-changing eye colour has something to do with his diet. Well, hopefully bright means alright. Turning to the goldfish that is currently impersonating her closest human friend, Bella smiles, bright as the sun.

"Jasper's tongue could drain the life right out me."

Somewhere down the corridor, she can hear who she can only presume to be Emmett dissolving into helpless laughter. The only reason she can possibly have kept a straight face for those ten seconds that Jessica just stares at her in wide eyed bemusement is only through the power of the gods themselves. Sadly, it's too good a joke to last and Bella cracks like a cheap chocolate egg. Her shoulders shake with the power of her laughter and she has to cling to Jasper for support, least she crumble in on herself like the aforementioned Easter treat.

"Oh my god, Jess, you're face! Man, that was priceless!"

The soft, slow motions of Jasper's ribcage is the only indication he's chuckling at this whole spectacle, his head tilting to a side as he considers her. There's nearly a foot between the two of them, so Bella squares her shoulders and mirrors the ridiculously attractive half of their friendship with a firm pout. "Seriously, what're you here for?"

"Just to let you know Edward hasn't clicked onto the content of our best friend indoctrination, but it's up to you to keep it that way if you want." This isn't shared aloud, for Jessica and the other ten or so eavesdroppers to hear. Oh _no_ ; Jasper leans down so his lips are close to her ear, one hand carefully holding back the thick mass of her hair so his words aren't muffled. He knows exactly what it looks like. He also probably realises she has no shame whatsoever for, when he pulls back, Bella flashes him a wide smile, fanning theatrically at her face.

"Save your sweet nothing until later, Cowboy, I'm free tonight." Her wink is over exaggerated and mocking. Jasper's smile doesn't fade in the slightest.

He spins on heel, walking over to where Rosalie and Emmett are waiting, chancing a single glance over his shoulder.

"Lookin' forward to it, Darlin'."

When her gaze returns to Jessica, her fellow human is goggling. Wide eyed, open mouthed, slack shoulders, it's the full monty of gawking.

"What?"

"You have, like, actual nicknames for each other! That is cute as fuck; how on earth have you managed it?!"

.

As they make their way to first period, Bella makes it as clear as she possibly can that she and Jasper are, in fact, just friends who know each other's darkest secret and spend their time building swings in each other backyard. Even if, now that they've both got one of each, they're gonna have to come up with some new bonding activity. And it's certainly not going to be fixing up her truck; that's here and Jacob's thing, after all.

Regardless of future plans, the look on Jessica's face makes it clear she doesn't believe a lick of what Bella's informing her, even if it is nothing but the truth. It's actually kinda funny and she wonders how long it'll take until the school rumour mill is proclaiming she's banging the semi-traumatised blond of the Cullen Clan. Bella's never been the centre of a scandalising rumour. New experience, here she comes. She'll make sure to get a kick out of it at the very least.

.

* * *

.

Isabella 'Bella' Swan comes bouncing into biology with a wide grin on her face and that incredibly potent blood pounding through her veins. It takes everything he has to not throw himself out of the chair at her. Sitting on their new swing, scenting the last lingering traces of her presence has helped. The jacket she'd forgotten to take back to her house had also helped. It is slow going, has been for the seemingly eternity since they met. He doesn't think his control will ever be good enough. But right now, he can manage to hold a conversation with the girl. As long as she doesn't bleed everywhere.

It doesn't mean he's still not struggling to wrap his head around why Jasper told her exactly what they are.

Doesn't mean he isn't amazed that Rose hasn't yet severed Jasper's head from his shoulders for so clearly outlining what they are to a human girl.

"Morning, Edward. I'd ask how the scar is, but I rather get the feeling it's as non-existent as your appetite." It's all said with a teasing lilt, a curious little smile to lips that are just a little too full for the face they sit in. Bella laughs to herself, dropping her bookbag to the floor with a thunk. She's quick to whip her hair up into a ponytail for which he's pretty thankful; less hair to get caught in the AC's grasp means there's less chance of Bella's scent sucker punching him in the face.

"Carlisle did give me a scar when he saved my life," Edward murmurs in a low tone, pulling out a notebook of his own and flipping to the first clean page. He titles it, dates it, then scowls good-naturedly as Bella scribbles a smiley face into the top corner.

"Smile, Grumpy Gus. Just for the record, I am fully expecting flowers and a card when I pull my first sicky. Though if you want to contribute to gas instead, I won't protest." She's dead serious. There's a flash in her mind of an empty petrol gauge, her death-trap of a truck sitting forlorn on the drive of her home, of riding to school with Jessica Stanley, of all people. Bella Swan is very different to what people expect her to be; a self-conscious teenager from a big city, suddenly introduced to a small town. Then thrown in with a vegetarian vampire coven. He's not sure what she told Jasper; the other vampire had made sure to blanket his thoughts with Queen songs whenever Edward was nearby since he returned from the Swan residence yesterday. But it had to have been something important for him to react that way, to wish to protect her secrets so determinedly.

' _Edward?!_ ' The greeting is loud, over-excited and painfully direct. It would seem Jasper let her know a little more than their current species.

"You don't need to be so… mentally loud," Edward murmurs, trailing off as Mr. Molina begins his lecture. As Edward's heard it all before, he's more than content to focus his attentions on Bella. Primarily on ignoring her scent and the crazed monster it stirs within him, but also listening to her.

' _So, Jasper dropped the ball on the whole vamp thing and he's trying to be a good Southern gentleman about it but I've let him know my deepest darkest secret too. It's a best friend thing; even though I'm gonna tell you now, it doesn't make us the bestest of buds, okay? That's my first and only._ ' Edward highly doubts that anything Bella could produce as her 'deepest darkest secret' would trump vampires.

She does give it a good try. Being capable of reading her mind (even if it's a bit muddled, as if he's trying to read a book but there's a muddy overlay in the way), he knows what she says is truth.

It doesn't change the fact it's ridiculous and explains a hell of a lot.

.

"Were you going to share that Bella's a reincarnated spirit?" Edward asks as he slides onto his usual chair at their usual table. Jasper's the only one present so far; the two girls have yet to return from the bathroom while Emmett is off getting them their guise of human food. It's disgusting, he has absolutely no desire to spend an evening retching to remove it all from his stomach. Normally, they'd make it a competition to see who could get the most food into the bin without any of the humans noticing (they never notice). But right now, Edward has a little more on his mind than those silly contests.

Glancing up from his phone, Jasper meets his gaze evenly, the artificial light catching at the swath of scars that collar his neck. They're a thick overlay around there, specifically on his jugular. Even now, after decades of knowing the other vampire, it is still a struggle to comprehend just how many Newborns Jasper must have fought. Just how many he must have put down. No, out of everyone in the Cullen Clan, the Southern is the one that all the others would hesitate to meet in a fight. Jasper is a powerful and Edward cannot honestly say which of them would win in a fight, despite his advantage of mind-reading.

"She told you then?" Jasper closes his phone with a click, accepting the tray of… 'food' that Emmett slides onto the table before him, its twin swiftly appearing by Edward's elbows as the youngest among them sets himself. The chair groans in protest.

"Told you what then? Is this 'bout Bubbles?" Hunching his huge, hulking figure down, Emmett cradles his chin with one hand, elbow to the table top and a frown on his face.

"Bella claims she can remember her past life," Edward confines lowly, his voice quiet and soft; zero chance of a human overhearing him that way.

"She what?" Emmett, for lack of better term, gawks at him before swivelling around to stare at Bella. Edward follows her gaze, not because he needs to stare at her to confirm what he's already decided from her mind, but because of what is currently making a mess in her mind.

The girl in question is folded over, seated but with her torso under the table as she digs through her backpack for something or other. There's a shallow thump as one of her elbows hits the table leg, follow by a short swear that has Edward cringing alongside Emmett's deep chuckle. Rubbing at her smarting elbow, Bella surfaces from beneath the table with a triumphant grin and some kind of fabric in hand. Jessica Stanley, the bane of his mind-reading existence, enquires after it with curious, eager eyes, but Bella waves her off with a grin. Then, she's turning to look at them, no, for them. No, for Jasper. Her eyes light up at the sight of him, then she's out of her seat with a sudden spring, overly eager as she strides forwards. And then falls flat on her face, leg tangled in one bag strap as the other clings to the edge of the table.

There's a moment of silence as the school takes in the sight of Isabella Swan, chief's daughter, sprawled out on the ground with both arms half-stretched out before her. Then, Lauren Mallory laughs. It's a nasally sound, tinged with the bitterness she feels towards the new girl who has so effectively monopolized everyone's attention. A few others join in, but it's Bella that surprises once again, laughing the loudest as she rolls over onto her back instead, limbs sprawled out wide and head tilted back.

Jasper's up and out of his chair before Edward, but it's a close thing. The other vampire makes for the downed teenager, who just seems content to lay there bonelessly, the shallow crowd parting with little to no effort.

"What are we gonna do with you, Darlin'?"

"You could carry me," Bella replies, utterly shameless and completely serious at the same time. He can get a vague sense of her emotions form Jasper, though it's aided by the fact so many people are looking at her and seeing the smile.

' _Oh my god! I knew they were-_ '

' _-comes in out of nowhere and suddenly Hale is-_ '

' _What a fool, why is Jasper even bothering_.' The last one is Rose and it has Edward hiding a smile behind his hand.

Instead of swooping in and scooping Bella up as Edward half expects the blond to do, Jasper offers her a hand, fingers wide and welcoming. He pulls her up with no effort whatsoever, catching her as she stumbles forwards, ankle still ensnared by the strap of her backpack. She lets go of his hand, laughing and jamming both thumbs into the pockets of her jeans, head cocking to a side.

"What's this?"

"Best friend initiation present. You stop wearing it, you're declaring that our bond is broken and we are the greatest of friends no more."

"And when the last thread wears away?" Jasper is holding a bracelet, woven from yellow and deep blue embroidery threads, a brass clasp at the end.

"Puh-lease, Cowboy. You take better care of your stuff than that." Bella grins, utterly ridiculous as she suddenly remembers a notebook left atop their shared biology desk. Edward had assumed it'd been purposely left for the next lesson but he'd evidently underestimated the human's absentmindedness.

"Later, alligator." Fingers click, pointer fingers shooting at Jasper in a mockery of guns before Bella snatches her bag up, hopping awkwardly to free her leg from it's hazardous hold. She's out the door before Jasper has managed to return to their table, half-smacking, half-bouncing into the doorframe as she goes. Utterly ridiculous.

Jasper still looks charmed regardless.

* * *

 **Happy Second of July my chick-a-dees! (In other news, pairing set with how well they've bounced off each other).**

 **Enjoy!**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

She's in hospital again, a cut digging deep into the flesh of her palm this time. Luckily, it'd only been Dad and the Blacks home. If Jasper'd been over, chances are good she'd be running a little low on the teed stuff right now.

"Look, Doc, if I could tip you, I would," Bella declares, flexing her hand back and forth. The new stitches are tight; a good thing, otherwise some of that fatty stuff in the chunky part of her palm would probably be trying to fall out again.

"What exactly were you doing, Bella, that gave you such a deep cut?" Carlisle asks, warm humour in his voice and Bella makes sure she grins extra bright at him, hopping down off the examination table, boots slamming against the floor.

"We're re-tiling the kitchen," Bella confines, shoulders rolling and a smile smearing its way across her face, "or, rather, I'm ripping up these nasty green tiles because, after seeing Vampire Mum's kitchen, I've been struck with semi-homeowner envy and I've got to make an attempt at dragging the house out the nineteen-eighties." She's thinking sunshine yellow for the cabinets, maybe cream or white flooring to lighten the place up. The windows aren't too small, but the room certainly isn't big enough to allow for the dark colour it currently is… was. Is half-way through transitioning from? Eh, details.

"That's not exactly the answer I was expecting," Carlisle admits, scribbling something down on his professional doctor clipboard, "but I can believe it."

"Good to know you're already on board with my brand of idiocy. I'll be the resident drunk to your bartender, Hot Doc."

"I beg your pardon, Bella?"

"Basically, means I'm gonna be a regular here; you'll have to learn to put up with me I guess," Bella declares, snatching up her discarded jacket and shoving her good arm into the sleeve. She takes a little more care with her injured hand, carefully wiggling it through the material, thankful she'd decided on an oversized, second-hand beaut of a jacket.

"It is not a trial to help you, Bella." Bella pauses, turning back to look at Carlisle with pursed lips and sceptical eyes. It's not that she's surprised and it's not that she's never experienced it before. Back when her Mum and Dad were together, they'd take time off work to watch her when she was sick, to make her soup and hot chocolate if it was raining (which it almost always was), No, in all honesty, she's just doing it to fuck with the vampire and, from the amused smile, he's aware of it too.

"I know; I'm just that loveable." She wiggles her eyebrows and Hot Doc laughs. It's a glorious sound.

Jasper's laugh still beats it out though.

.

* * *

.

"I am sick!" Bella declares, grinning as she drops into what is usually Rosalie's seat in the cafeteria, bag hitting the floor with the ample thud that indicates it contains one to many hardback books. "I am going to be snotty and phlegmy and completely gross! Welcome back to the world of human disease in close proximity!"

Flexing her injured hand, the human plants one elbow down on the table, her palm cradling her chin as she flutters her eyelashes at him in an obnoxiously over-the-top manner. It's pure theatrics and it has Emmett guffawing and Edward smiling despite his tense shoulders.

"And, Darlin'? You waiting for me to offer playing nurse?"

"As much as I enjoy the mental image of you a nurse's uniform-" her eyes trail over his form as if she's already picturing it- "that wasn't what I was fishing for. Maybe next time." The last part is hastily added, followed by a wink that has Jasper rolling his eyes, basking in the warmth her teases generate. Even if there is an uncomfortable lethargy that lingers as a result of this developing… illness. It's nothing more than a common cold as far as he can tell; not something Carlisle can fix in an instant. That's a shame.

"So, what are you gunning for over here then, Bubbles?"

Bella swings around to face Emmett, her eyes widening just a smidge as she sniffles into her curled fingers. With that, she's near the epitome of a cute, sick little human who need nursing back to health. The whole act'd probably set Carlisle off better than any match to a firework ever could.

"Forty percent sympathy, sixty percent enjoyment of fuelling the rumour mills for when Cowboy here caves and offers me some of that best friend comfort for my poor, disease-riddled self. I've never been part of a school-wide rumour before and I must say, I'm enjoying it immensely. So far Jasper and I are planning a secret wedding, have banged in the back of my Dad's police cruiser and in Hot Doc's office, and, this one is my favourite, I'm dating Jasper but seeing Alice on the side. Also, I've apparently got my eyes on Edward in order to complete my sexy love square like the confident, greedy bitch I am." Here, she mockingly winks at the vampire in question, a few speckles of mascara falling free to dust as the semi-bruised skin of her lower eyes, evidence of too little sleep last night. The skin around her nose is already beginning to peel, the outcome of one to many dives into a too rough tissue. Her cheeks are flushed as those white blood cells do battle with the invaders.

"You shouldn't refer to yourself in such a derogatory manner," Edward says softly, gazing up at Bella from beneath the thick bracket of his eyelashes. The only working heart in close proximity hammers away at the sight and Jasper scowls, kicking Edward in the shin. He's well aware the other vampire isn't doing it on purpose but would it kill him to be a little more considerate?

"Is it truly derogatory if I wave it 'round like a hammer though?"

"Whatever floats your boat, Bubbles. Now, for the question we've been planning to ask you since this morning-" Bella jolts up at that, wide eyes that have just a hint of red soreness around the edges focused on Emmett- "what are your plans tonight?"

"They involved a hot water bottle, a mug of hot chocolate, and a lot of Disney movies."

"Well, it's a shame you'll miss tonight's baseball game then."

"What?! Vampire baseball? Noooo, I don't wanna miss it! Let me see supernatural baseball, pretty pretty please with a pig on top?"

"With a pig on top?"

"First animal I could think of that kept the alliteration going."

"Pig's no good to us, Bubbles. Try a panther next time."

"Huh. I'm assuming that's an apex predator thing. Anyway, serious question here, Edward. I know some predators can smell when prey is diseased so they avoid eating it; are you put off by my sick self, or am as tasty-smelling as ever?"

"This isn't something you should be talking about here. Now get out of my seat." The arrival of Rosalie effectively kills whatever conversation Bella had been in the process of creating. Jasper loves Rosalie, he does. She's like the sister he never had (or perhaps, one he can't remember) and she's the only other Cullen who understands the gritty dark-side to being a vampire. She's the one who hunted her attackers down for revenge. There are some days, days when the scent of human blood gets too much for him, days when heartbeats are all that he can hear vibrating around in his mind; there are days he wishes he could do what Rosalie did. That he could find it in himself to hunt down Maria, to outline to the older vampire just what it is she has made him into, just what kind of monster she created. But his feelings towards Maria are a complicated tangle and it is best to remain removed from her. That and, should he return to the South, he's relatively worried he'll slip right off the bandwagon again. And that's not something he can afford to do right now.

"Ah, the blonde goddess of diamonds; so pretty and yet, so cutting." Bella sighs but gets to her feet nonetheless, swiping up her lunch tray. She's not quick enough with the motion for Jasper to fail at noticing the second pudding that has appeared on there. A quick glance over the table shows that Emmett's is missing. Sneaky bastard.

Jasper pushes back on the chair, ignoring the screeching that comes from the legs being forcefully moved across the floor, and gets to his feet to follow Bella. He pays Rosalie's grumble of "you idiot," the same amount of attention that he did the chair legs, plucking Bella's tray out of one hand and hold his own in the other.

"Can you stomach sitting with the other humans, or do you want to go outside?" It's an Esme question, asking after him and checking he's okay with the situation.

"I'd rather have you all to myself, Darlin'."

"Outside it is then."

.

There's no rain today and there won't be until they're halfway through their post-lunch lesson, according to Alice. No one else is foolish enough to be outside in the early spring chill, other than the two of them. And Jasper's not exactly effected by temperatures, other than ones that threaten spontaneous combustion. Bella drops into a seat at the nearest table, inspecting the neat stitches in the palm of her hand, fingers wiggling and the motion pulling some of the skin taunt. It's not like the stitches will come out; Carlisle is far too good a doctor for that.

"You never had stitches before, Darlin'?"

"Not ones that I could see and manipulate so effectively as these," Bella murmurs, grinning up at him as he places her lunch tray down. There's a slab of pizza on there, grease pooling onto the plate and looking all around disgusting. Bella immediately begins tearing into it, smearing both the excess grease and the tomato sauce around her lips as she eats. She's such a messy eater. Bella swallows down her cardboard topped cheese before she turns her attentions back on him, all bright smiles and runny nose. How adorably disgusting.

"But I am a-okay to come and watch vampire baseball," she insists, head nodding along as physical evidence of her agreement.

"I don't know, Bella, won't your hot-water bottle miss you?"

"I wanna see the supernatural baseball," Bella hisses, this time with feeling. She's finished her pizza now and, given how Jasper has decided to sit with his back to the windows, nobody will be able to see how Bella steals the slice from his own plate. She bites into it, holding the slab of cheese and tomato with her good hand, the injured one gesturing to him with a pointed finger waggling around. "You cannot leave me out of supernatural baseball. I'm a reborn spirit, that instantly qualifies me as a spectator."

"Does it now? Where's this rule written then?"

Bella's injured hand, her dominant one, comes down on the back of his own. Well, her pointer finger does. He has all the time in the world to move his own hand out of the way, but he's interested in what she's up to. Wants to know what ridiculousness she's going to come out with to try and convince him he should bring the human to the vampires' game. He muffles a laugh into his shoulder when she actually begins writing out the rule on the back of his hand.

"That's not permanent."

"Doesn't matter. You know it's there; I know it's there. Ergo, it's there." Here, she flips his palm, tracing the creases that remain in his skin even now. He wonders what it feels like to her. Though his skin moves as any living thing, the density of it means his body undoubtedly feels like a rock beneath Bella's touch. Are the creases on his palm like weathered lines cut into stone by nature itself? Does she ever startle when the 'rock' moves or has she come to expect it now?

Bella traces the curve that begins between his pointer and middle finger, following it until she reaches the edge of his palm, before proudly stating, "you've got a long life line."

"That's the love line, not the life line." There's a moment of silence between the two of them, the sound of Fork's High's cafeteria the only noise before Bella suddenly snorts, hiding her nose in a tissue to dispose of the excess fluid the action comes with.

"Oh my god, how do you know that? Is that vampire knowledge? Is it something you actually use in your day to day living? How do you know how to read palms, Cowboy?"

"Alice wanted to learn it back in the sixties so she could play at being a psychic at state fairs. None of the others volunteers to learn it with her and I owe Alice." He owes her more than he could ever say for leading him to his lifestyle.

"I can totally see her doing that," Bella muses with a smile and a nod, snatching up the napkin from his plate to wipe her mouth clean. "So, you can do me a palm reading, then I'll go to Alice to see how accurate you were. After vampire baseball."

Jasper smiles, swiping his thumb down the length of Bella's index finger, still lingering on his palm. "After vampire baseball," he agrees.

.

As predicted, it rains throughout most of the afternoon, trickling to a stop when the final bell echoes through the building. Jasper had paid little attention to his lessons as the teacher attempted to cram knowledge into the heads of his other students. Jasper, after all, is well aware of all aspects of the civil war. History is what he is good at, what he's invested in. He's one of the few vampires in the world who cares enough about the human world to keep track of everything, the one who keeps written statements of everything significant that has happened, who writes about what he's witnessed. The entire Cullen Clan had been there for Apollo 11's take-off, in the shade of a building. All thanks to Alice's precognition. It'd been a sight to see, a once in a lifetime thing for most humans. It'd also been the last rocket that Jasper had seen blast-off, simply because no others have held so grand a significance. He'll be there for the one that makes it to Mars, and all the ones that make it further after that. But it'll be a long while before that happens.

"Tell me you invited Bubbles to the game tonight," Emmett mockingly whispers, elbowing him in the side and Jasper tilts his head back to roll his eyes at the other vampire.

"Yes, I did. The reincarnated human will be in attendance."

"You think she'll remember all her human life when she's changed?" At that, Jasper's thoughts skid to a halt, head snapping around to stare at Emmett in full, probably freaking out the odd human who watches his head spin far too quick for their eyes to keep up.

"Excuse me?"

"Well it's obvious, isn't it? Bubbles is hanging around with us too often for it not to go that way. If she's gifted in her human life of remembering the one before, maybe she'll remember every little thing when she's changed."

"Bella isn't getting changed," Jasper states as if it is something he is utterly certain of. Only, he's not. Come to think of it, Alice has mentioned nothing of the sort on Bella's future. Nothing other than the fact she's going to be constantly inspiring hope and happiness in them.

"Eh, what happens, happens, you know? Ten big ones says she does."

"I am not betting on this, Emmett," Jasper snaps, hefting his bag strap up over his shoulder and narrowly avoiding ripping the material in his annoyance. He strides away from the larger male, ignoring the whispers the kick up across the student body.

Would Bella want to be changed? Would she want to become a vampire like them? Undoubtedly, Edward and Rosalie would be against it, both for different but potentially valid reasons. Carlisle and Esme would be neutral on the matter, Emmett is evidentially all for it while Alice… Alice cheats because she already knows the outcome. When it comes to being a vampire, when it comes to the thought of Bella becoming a vampire… Jasper isn't sure where his opinion on that falls. On one hand, their lives are a constant battle to remain humane, to cling to the last shreds of humanity and to not get lost in the monster. But humans age. Humans die. The thought of Bella dying, no matter how inevitable should she not somehow become a vampire, is discomforting.

"Penny for your thoughts, Cowboy?" Speak of the devil-

Bella Swan has two books pressed to her chest, backpack slung over one shoulder and a tissue clenched between the fingers of her right hand. She's smiling and the mascara of her right eye is smudge into the skin around it, as if she's been pawing at it. Probably has; though she won't have been through the education system as many times as Jasper, she has done it at least once before. Things left to learn, but it's not all entirely new.

"S'nothing, Darlin'. You ready for baseball?"

"Hell, yeah I am. Can we pop to my house so I can get my own kit on?"

"You have your own kit?"

"Please, Phil plays baseball. Of course, I have my own kit."

.

* * *

.

Pulling at the stretchy fabric that clings to her ass, Bella shoves another packet of tissues into the pocket of her jacket, jamming the cap down on her head, attaching the Velcro strap once she's fed it under her ponytail. Sick she may be, but there's no way in hell she's missing out on vampire baseball. Jasper had ridden home with her in Ol' Red, but he'd disappeared when she trooped upstairs. Running back to his house to get changed, no doubt. She hopes the Cullen Clan will be in matching sets; that'd be adorable.

Bouncing down the stairs, Bella skips the last step to jump to the floor, sticking the landing with the practiced ease of one who's been doing this since they were six years old. Yes, she may have been jumping up the third or fourth step up into her father's arms; isn't that part of childhood though? Well, even if it isn't, she'd had fun doing it, still finds a little pleasure in leaping down when she can.

"Bells? What's with the getup?"

"Jasper invited me to the Cullen family baseball game. Gotta dress the part, you know?" Wiggling her eyebrows, Bella wanders into the kitchen, ignoring how she doesn't take the turn wide enough and ends up banging her hip on the doorway. The lack of green tiles is jarring now; she can't wait for the lino to arrive so they can start slapping that down on the floor. When Dad has a day off, that is.

"And it is a family thing?" Dad continues, head half buried behind his coffee, suited and booted up the for the night shift and just waiting for the hour hand to reach the clock's five. This is why Bella has zero intention of being a cop; the night shift is not for her. No way, no how.

"If I was going on a date, I'd be a bit more dressed up than this." She gestures down at the purple and orange set that she'd clad in. It's Phil's colours, the ones for his new team. Maybe someday she'll be able to get her ass down to Florida; Mum and Phil have just moved into a new house so it won't be for a while… but she's so, so looking forwards to being able to abuse the fact she's suddenly much closer to Disneyland. If she can get the funds for it, that is. Damn, she needs a job so bad right now.

The knock at the door snaps her from her thoughts and Bella bounces over, peeling the entrance way back. Jasper's there, Alice sat behind Emmett and Rosalie in Ol' Red's younger, sexier cousin. Bella whistles, eyes flying over the red jeep, taking in the mud splatters up the side that indicate Emmett has powered that baby across the roadless landscape.

"You know, the only way this could be better is if you'd picked me up on a bike," Bella declares, adjusting the brim of her cap. "I bet I'd look sexy in leathers."

"Bella."

"Yes Dad?" Smiling cheerfully, she swings back around to look at the man in question, going for her best innocent puppy-dog eyes. Coupled with the impending sickness that is steadily creeping across her face she probably looks a sight. Not cute, but definitely something that needs taking care of. It's a look that's never failed to work before, and the success rate is yet to be broken, going by the way her father turns his attentions from her to Jasper.

"That thing road legal?"

"Yes sir. It's Emmett's baby, he'd never risk not being able to drive it."

Dad hums deep in the back of his throat, bushy moustache twitching.

"Come on, Dad, I'll only stick my head out of the side once, twice tops." Thrusting her feet into a pair of worn, reliable trainers, Bella grins up at her father, who's trying to supress a fond smile. It's too clear though and Bella will tease him like hell for it. Later, because vampire baseball is first.

"Look after her, Mr Hale. The last time we played baseball, she managed to knock herself out with the bat."

"It was a cheap bat," Bella mumbled, recalling the injuring with a frown on her face. Everything had been going fine; her, Dad and Jake were having a whale of a time playing baseball while Billy barbequed up some meat. The bat had been brand new and trustworthy; she'd thought. On the next swing, however, the ball had hit the ground by her feet because the damn bat had split right down the handle, the end bouncing off the side of her head. The next thing Bella had remembered was waking up in the emergency room to the devastating news that all the steak had been eaten.

Jasper's cocked one eyebrow up, looking down at her with a smug little smile. No doubt planning to weasel the story out of her later. And, like the soft-hearted fool she is, she'll tell him what happened because he's too pretty to be denied.

"We'll keep her safe, Sir. I'll bring her back with the same number of injuries she leaves with."

"Hey! That's not funny." Bella jabs Jasper in the side. Or, she makes it look like that, but she's pressing the flat of her thumb against his side instead to express her displeasuring without injuring any of her fingers. Because she's finally cottoned on to the whole marble-body-not-good-for-hitting thing. From the smirk he shoots her, Jasper's noticed. Stupid vampire abilities. Not fair.

"I'll try to aim any broken bats at Jasper's head, Dad. I've had my monthly hospital trip, so I should be fine."

The look she receives after saying that is one of deep suspicion and Bella makes sure to keep grinning just that little bit longer for it all. It's not like she'll actually be playing, is it? She probably won't even get her outfit dirty which means less washing. Which is a plus on any front.

It is with a sigh that Dad relents in his not-quite-interrogation, dipping his head and checking his watch for the time. "Have fun, Bells."

"Will do, Dad! Don't arrest too many people!"

* * *

 **Rat-a-ta-ta-ta! Man, writing this fic is so therapeutic.**

 **Sending you all my love for breaking that 1,000 review hurdle on this fic! Much love, thanks!**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The field that Emmett drives them to is huge. A great big open space, bracketed with trees on all sides and the Olympic mountains in the distance. The only thing that could have made it any prettier was if the sun had been shining. But given the fifty-fifty change it'd have cooked her best friend and his family, Bella's pretty cool with the overcast. Save the vamps and all that.

The ride up hadn't been… tense, but there had been an undeniable current of 'I don't want you here' shimmering off of Rosalie's entire body. Luckily for Bella, Alice is a wonderful vampire-being who went about putting her at easy quickly, even going so far as to explain how her vampire superpowers worked, discussing how the cracks of thunder would disguise the way they play baseball. Bella had listened, hypnotised, by how Alice described the differences between vampires and humans. Jasper hadn't mentioned the extent of their super strength, or their speed. She knew he was quick, knew her eyes couldn't keep up with him except to register that he was a blur of movement, but getting the low-down from Alice was something else altogether.

"So, you play ref, Yummy Vampire Mummy?" Esme Cullen laughs at her nickname and it sounds like cherubs and heavenly choir all at once.

"Yeah, we're not allowed to play on our own anymore because we're 'dirty cheats' who 'don't know when they've taken it too far'." Emmett's answer is accompanied by finger-quotation marks, a shrug of his shoulders, and a stern frown from Esme.

"The last time you two went at it, the house in Chicago was pronounced 'structurally unsound'." The mocking return of the finger quotation marks startles a hard laugh out of Bella, only made that much worse by Emmett's sheepish expression. Once she'd seen her biggest son off, Esme turns back to Bella with a soft smile on her face, whistle balanced between a finger and thumb. "Don't let Jasper's Southern charm fool you, Bella. He's just as competitive as the rest of them."

"Let me guess, neither of them would take me on their team for fear I'd be the one to sink their chances of winning?"

"Not at all. They were actually both fighting over who could win with the human handicap."

Pressing both hands atop her left breast, Bella stumbles back theatrically, as if wounded by an arrow. "Say it isn't so; they doubt me that much?"

Esme says nothing and Bella drops the act. "Seriously though, who plays for what team and who should I be betting on? Come on, give me the insider information, pretty please with a panther on top?" Emmett's loud cackle is ignored as he runs perimeter, dropping what appears to be the stand-in base markers as he goes. It's a big, big pitch. Bella could maybe do two laps at a steady run before tiring, but then again, vampire superiority and all that. Man, if they're half as graceful at moving fast as they are when they're parading about at school, then they're probably a sight to see in true motion. A shame her weak human eyes won't catch it.

"The A Team, as Emmett insists on, consists of the big lug himself, Carlisle and Alice. While Team A Plus-" Esme grins at her undoubtedly poleaxed expression- "is Rose, Jasper and Edward. Rose named them right after Emmett chose his team name. I know she may seem distant, but Rose has her reasons for it and I am sorry that she is struggling to…"

"Accept Jasper's human best friend into the family dynamic?"

"Exactly," Esme says with a laugh, warm gold eyes glancing back over towards six vampires that were all finished limbering up. Edward was apparently the first up to bat, Alice the pitcher. The first two throws, Bella didn't even see coming until it was all over and the ball was already in Esme's hands. The third one, however, met the bat with the crack of thunder, the ball rocketing away, as did Edward. Both he, Carlisle and Emmett were a great blur of white cotton and coloured hair; Bella spent the few seconds they were in motion squinting before Edward was sliding home, Emmett chasing uselessly after him with the ball.

"Next up!"

It's Jasper that steps up to the plate next, twisting the bat back and forth in his hands, watching Alice watch him. Bella could see it now, the thrum of competitive spirit that buzzed back and forth between them all. Oh god, she wants in on it so bad but she'd never be able to keep up with them. Maybe she can get them to join in a game with her that doesn't rely on reaction-speeds. Not monopoly though. She doesn't want to destroy their friendship, after all.

"Go Jasper!" Punching the air above her head, Bella leans forwards in excitement, even as Alice tries (and fails) to contain her laughter. The first ball flies right by Jasper, straight into Esme's waiting hands. Her blond best friend raises an eyebrow, cocking his head back to meet her gaze and Bella sticks her tongue out at him. The next swing of the bat strikes true, a thunderous hammer of a sound and the ball is off once again. Jasper blurs out of existence, nothing both a hazy shape of white, blue and blond. It's not even a breath later that Carlisle is crashing into him. If Bella had thought the sound of the ball being sent into hyperdrive was loud, this was the protester rocking up with a megaphone and custom-built speakers. Even from this distance, the noise physically pained her ears, to the point her hands were clamping over them with no forethought. Watching the normally calm and composed Carlisle bounce off of a suddenly visible Jasper, watching them both slam into the ground and leave a crater where they'd once been, is delightful.

"This is amazing," Bella whispers, giving up the pretext of a stationary observer and making her way over, closer. "Are there vampire baseball leagues? There totally should be; though from what I've seen so far, Edward would trounce you all."

"You wound me, Darlin'."

"He looks like he's the fastest of you all. I'm just being truthful, Cowboy!" Grinning, Bella doesn't have the option of preparing herself for Jasper's sudden attack. She's swept up in his arms, thrown carefully over his shoulder and Bella shrieks out a laugh, pulling wildly on his shirt as she's spun just a little too fast for what any normal human hostage-taker could manage.

"That fast enough?" It's only as her head has stopped spinning that Bella notices all the other vampires are suddenly a lot closer than they had been before. That is some hella quick reaction time.

"Hey," Bella asks, well aware she has absolutely zero dignity hanging over Jasper's shoulder like this, dressed in a baseball kit that most certainly does not match the Cullen colours, "can I have a turn to swing? Just for shits and giggles?" She absolutely plans on playing the idiot, the 'I've never done this before so I need someone to stand behind me, show me how to swing the bat, actually take the shot for me but I'll take all the credit'.

Alice's serious face kills that thought rather quickly.

.

* * *

.

The three nomadic vampires arrive not long after Bella has been set back down off of his shoulder. Part of him had insisted to take her and run; he was quick, knew the area… but where would he have run to? If they followed (and they would if they had run), then all it would have eventually led to would be a confrontation of sorts. Human eating vampires will want only one thing from a human at the end of it all. Jasper knows that all too well, knows how the jugular feels beneath fangs, knows how the spurt of blood can hit the back of a mouth and the struggles can wither and die.

But that's not Bella's future. Not while he can still stand between them.

Running had been off the table since the second the thought had crossed his mind. That leaves two options. Peaceful confrontation, in which the nomadic vampires accept they aren't allowed to hunt in what Carlisle calls his territory. Then, violent confrontation. The one where they turn down Carlisle request to not hunt. The one where they go for the closest human. The one that leads to fighting. He doesn't like fighting, but he is good at it.

He is very good at fighting.

The three vampires have no shoes on; clear evidence of their lifestyle. When put to the levels of vampiric abuse that consists of a run across country, shoes fall apart pretty easily. They're not designed to last, not anymore. They're not Newborns, the move with the fluidity of age, but there are no visible scars on them. Not like what Jasper boasts. Their eyes (crimson and bright) scan over the lot of them and, as always with strangers, they stop on Jasper. He's used to it. He's aware he's a sight; even the other Cullens can tense up if he's in the corner of their eye when they're lost in their instincts, when they're hunting and drinking.

Carlisle steps forwards and greets them. As introductions are made, Jasper reaches out with his gift, testing the waters. The woman (Victoria) is the most flighty, apprehensive. No doubt because their trio have come face to face with a large clan. It is no secret than Carlisle's family, this family he has found himself a part of, is one of the biggest covens in North America (discounting the turbulence south). He supposes that can be intimidating to most other vampires. Yes, the woman is easily scared off. It's the one that isn't talking that could be the threat. Laurent is calm enough, open enough. But the other is tense. Jasper doesn't like the flavour of emotions he's getting off of that one; luckily, with his gift, that's something his can begin to smooth out.

That doesn't account for the wind.

It ruffles through Bella's hair, sucker-punching him with her scent. It's followed up by a jab of bloodlust as the other vampire, James, lurches forwards into a crouch. A growl tears through Jasper's throat before he can stop it and Bella is behind him, the warmth of her side pressing up against his back, the short gasp of her breath echoing through the air. He's spun her too quickly; he can feel her nausea but he's not sorry. Not when James is feinting to the left and Jasper can only track him, eyes hard.

"You've brought a snack?"

"She's with us."

"You're human eaters?" Bella's hands are on his shoulders, applying a feeble amount of pressure in an attempt to push him down, to peer around him because for some unfathomable reason she wants to see the things that are currently threatening her life. "Hey, can I ask you about how you handle the morality of eating something you once where?" Bella's leg slides up his side as if she's genuinely contemplating clambering up and over him. Jasper snatches up the thigh, grip like titanium. Not only does that force her to remain stationary, but it also means he can swing her around to Edward if needs be. He's the fastest of them, he can run with her if needs be. It barely takes him a moment to take stock of it all, the fall back into old routines. Emmett is their strongest; he would be Jasper's ideal partner to take down James. Alice, given her gift, would be best suited to dealing with Victoria and Rosalie has enough ruthlessness to follow through with that. Edward running with Bella, Carlisle and Esme offering support and defence. What would be more ideal would be using Bella as bait but everything inside of him balks at the thought. Strategically it makes sense, but-

"If you want my legs around you Cowboy, all you have to do is ask," Bella breathes, cheek pressing against his shoulder blade and thigh clenching in his grip. It's enough to wrongfoot two thirds of the nomads, who both startle, curiosity swirling. James, the hunter, just tilts his head and flares his nostrils that little bit more. Jasper responds in kind, angling his own jawline so the lacework of scars ripple. Victoria is instantly on edge and there's a healthy amount of caution coming off of the leader.

"A human lover?" Laurent, the sensible, level-headed one asks, and Bella's heartbeat jackhammers in her chest. It's so loud that everyone present can hear it, but she powers on anyway, working herself into a magnificent distraction as Jasper keeps his eyes on the threat.

"I even let him take a bit out of me when he's done."

At that, James does snarl, taking another step forwards and Jasper has had enough. Thank fuck for Edward's gift; he knows to be there to collect Bella as Jasper launches himself forwards, intersecting James' path to the girl. He's tagged Carlisle and Esme to follow him as he disappears out of the clearing before the other two have managed to gather their wits enough to attempt to follow.

"James, no!"

"Alice, and Rosalie, the woman. Emmett!" Jasper slams Laurent (the only one with enough sense not to tangle with them) with enough lethargy and disinterest that it'd stop a lion in its tracks and focuses in on James.

Jasper's main experience with fighting comes with the nonsensical battles against Newborns. There had been a handful of times, however, when he had faced down a coven leader. The rules change once a vampire is no longer a newborn. They're not driven by their instincts; they're not focused on blood along and are clear headed enough to think.

But these nomadic vampires, they've not got the experience that comes with being turned in the South. James is a good fighter, but he's not seasoned enough to ignore the pain of Jasper's first bite, to ignore the venom that laces through his shoulder. Not like Jasper, who takes the bite to the neck and just powers through the pain in order to rip the arm off. He hears the woman screech, backs off quick enough for Emmett to collar the would-be-hunter and tear off a second arm.

It's quick from there.

.

The woman flees, panic and fear and hatred pouring off her. Laurent surrenders, his hands up and his fearful eyes tracing ever mark on Jasper's sink left by incisors.

Carlisle is going to be disappointed; he always is whenever he comes face to face with death. Edward too will probably be upset. But he'll understand, will have seen in the hunter's mind what Jasper had felt in his emotions. That he'd decided Bella was prey. That he wasn't going to stop until he had her. No, Jasper was military in his human life, has spent a lifetime studying war and the tactics used within it. He knows what they have just done is the best course of action. Though a part of him warns the fleeing Victoria is a bad sign.

What worries him the most is how Bella will react to all of this. It is one thing to know of the Cullens, to be on friendly terms with the vampires who eat animals, who abstain from human blood. It is another thing entirely to be exposed to the bloodied side of it, to be turned into prey and have your humanity stripped away from you.

"Anyone got a phone so we can let Edward know the problem has been dealt with?"

Laurent pulls a face at that particular expression but wisely says nothing.

"Hell yeah. I always leave mine in the jeep, otherwise they get trashed." A mote of wisdom he'll be taking on board given the pieces of crushed technology lying broken in his pocket.

It doesn't take long for him to dig Emmett's phone from the cupholder and to punch in Edward's number. It does take three rings before the other vampire picks up.

"Jasper?"

"James is dead. Victoria fled and Laurent surrendered. Is Bella okay?" He can hear her on the other side of the phone, the steady thumps of her heartbeat. Her demands to be given the mobile are met with solid resistance from Edward, who continues to question how everyone is. Not that anyone other than Jasper suffered a bite. The foreign venom in his shoulder is still stinging. It'll heal quick in comparison to human's wound, but it'll scar as thoroughly as it currently hurts.

"We're on our way back. Might be best if Bella stays the night given the fact the woman is up in the wind."

"I'll swing it by Carlisle; if we can claim a concussion that he wants to keep an eye on-"

"Wait, who's getting a concussion? Is it me? It's me, right?"

"Put Bella on please, Edward." There a moment of quiet as the phone is passed between hands, a few muffled thumps and bangs as the speak transfers hands and the receiver slams against Bella's ear.

"Jasper! Are you alright! Is everyone okay! Do I need to donate any blood to a worthy cause? Would that help?" Huffing a shallow laugh, Jasper clambers into the jeep alongside Alice, Emmett opening Rosalie's door for her and bowing gallantly.

"We're fine, Darlin'. We're on our way back and we'll talk then, so could you put on a performance for your dad?"

"Got it. I'll give him the performance of a lifetime; he'll be worried for my health in no time!" Great, next they'll have Charlie Swan knocking down their door to figure out why his daughter's lying to him about a concussion.

.

* * *

.

Dad is utterly unsurprised when Hot Doc calls him up and informs him that she's managed to earn herself a concussion. It's not the truth, but with how her head is bubbling with new thoughts and feelings, it's not too far off.

It hadn't really hit until now just what 'vampire' meant. Watching one make a pass at her, brilliant red eyes and a bloodthirsty expression... it's a bit like taking a hammer to the head. How is she supposed to live, how is she supposed to carry on with her life knowing that exists? Well, the answer is she's not supposed to. That expression, that specific thing on a vampire's face is meant to be the last thing a human sees; all inhuman and monstrous. Ignorance is bliss, she supposes.

At the moment, she's resting on the sofa, wrapped up in a blanket that Esme's rustled up from whatever motherly dimension all mothers pull that shit outta. There're calming tones floating through the air as Edward runs his fingers back and forth across the piano, Carlisle standing next to him and doing a damn good job of pretending he's not watching her for shock. Being in shock sucks; she's aware of it, but that doesn't mean she can break the dazed sense of disattachment she's got going on. But she can totally snuggle up into the blanket of warmth and bask in the smooth tones of Edward-Von-Beethoven.

There's a slight jolt in the music that lets Bella know her fellow junior has been listening in on her internal narration. She wonders if any of the other Cullens are hiding magical musical talents. She'll be very disappointed in them if the answer is no. Emmett seems like a ukulele kinda guy; huge muscles and a tiny musical instrument. She could see Rosalie playing the drums, hammering away at them as if they were all that was wrong with her world.

"Bella?" Peeling back one layer of the very large blanket, the Bella in question peers up at Jasper, taking in the windswept mess of his hair, the tear in his shirt near the collar. It's a shame, that was a nice shirt. Back before… whatever it was happened. She doesn't know what's happened, just that it's all sorted, according to Edward.

"Jasper-" because they're apparently doing the first name thing now, not nicknames- "what happened?"

Her fool of a best friend goes to sit down on the sofa beside her blanket bundle and there's no way she's having that. So, it is with great effort that Bella shuffles closer, throwing the blanket over him, tucking his shoulders inside and laying her head against one. Jasper is shockingly cold; it's a vampire thing, Alice has explained it to her before, but knowing and then experiencing are two very different beasts. Bella still presses her head against his clavicle, nose scrunching up when she notices a wetness residing on her cheek.

"Why is my cheek wet?"

"James bit me."

"James bit you. That's, that's kinky. No, no this is serious, that's not good." Peeling her head back, Bella carefully shifts the ripped collar of Jasper's shirt to a side, spotting the indentation and holy shit, he has actually been bit. "Holy shit." She aborts the idea of touching it at the last second and while Bella would like to say she's smart enough to have done so in order to avoid causing Jasper further pain, it's something else that catches her eye entirely. It's faint, incredibly so, but it isn't the first bite that's been put on Jasper's skin.

"Holy shit," Bella whispers, this time with something almost like reverence because now that she's looking, now that she's really paying attention and squinting like a goodun, it's easy to see the rest. Well, not easy; she has to really focus or they blend right in with the rest of the marble. But they're there. Bite mark after bite mark after bite mark. Hell, if the Cullen household wasn't as well lit as it is, she'll probably have never noticed them to begin with.

"Holy shit," Bella repeats for the third time, "you're either really kinky or you're really scrappy." That's the bit that finally pulls a laugh from Jasper, soft and low in his chest. His ribcage flutters beneath her touch and it registers that Jasper's not been breathing until now, that his ribcage has been utterly still while she's been laid by his side.

"Scrappy isn't the word most would use for it," he murmurs, shoulders rolling back as Bella carefully rests her head back on him, conscious of the open wound (is it open though? Does a bite for a vampire count? Why is there no blood? God, she's got so many questions) even as his muscles moves beneath her cheek like rocks rearranging themselves.

"Are vampires into kinky bites?" Bella asks, fingers running up and down her blanket covered thighs, trying to inspire warmth and movement back into them.

"Any venom but our own is the most painful thing a vampire can experience."

"So, no kinky bites then," Bella concludes, glancing over at Edward's abandoned piano stool, at the kitchen threshold that Carlisle has crossed through, undoubtedly still able to hear them, but the illusion of privacy is there. She's really not sure how she feels about everything that's happened and that's without knowing the fallout. She has questions, but she also has a hesitancy in asking them. If she does ask what happened after she was suddenly kidnapped à la sprinting Edward, then will it change her entire perceptions of the Cullen clan? Will it change how she views her best friend? Is ignorance bliss, or cowardice? The question is, what can she live with?

"You're distracting yourself, Darlin'."

"Got it in one. Maybe soon I'll ask after everything that's happened today, but not right now."

"Don't wanna ask about the scars?"

"Nah. You'll tell me when you're ready. And in return, I'll tell you about the time Mum and I went rock-climbing. It's embarrassing as hell, you'll love it."

Jasper hums, tucking Esme's blanket further around his thighs,

"If a vampire bites a vampire, it's painful. If a vampire bites a human, it starts a transition. But if a human bites a vampire?"

"The human's teeth break."

Running a tongue over the only set of human teeth in the house, Bella huffs, letting her eyes slide shut.

"That sucks."

* * *

 **I don't know, I think Jasper would take the confrontation where he could better control the outcome; I think he'd be aware that running would be no good regardless and that there's a strength in numbers. I did toy with the idea of Bella pulling her stitches to blew and distract James, but scrapped it in the end. IDK, here you go.**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"I've come to terms with it all. He was a serial killer, I was to be his next of many future victims, and now he's been stopped. Morality is fine, I can now get on with my life."

When she'd woken up after falling asleep on Jasper, Bella had found herself with a droll trail down the side of her mouth, sticky sleep in her eyes and a crusted nose from the unrelenting cold that's still lingering in her sinuses. Things had been… awkward between them in that no one seemed to want to tell her what had happened, pussyfooting around like she's delicate (which, fair enough, in comparison to them she is). What returns things to the status quo is, surprisingly enough, Rosalie Hale. Admittedly, she'd probably told Bella what had happened simply to scare her off. Only, Bella'd had a few days to calm down and she's made of tougher stuff than that, metaphorically.

It's Alice who finds her first after she's come to her decision to either ring up the Cullens, or turn up unexpectedly on their doorstep, armed with a bucket of animal blood and a 'thank you for keeping me alive' card. But of course it's Alice, she who sees the future. Bella is gonna take the other girl with her the second she turns eighteen and can buy scratchcards. She needs that dollar dollar and she's not afraid of calling on a friend to help her out with her money-making ways. That's if no jobs open up in the area; small town syndrome, all the jobs are currently taken. It won't be until the latest batch of seniors leave that their part-time occupations open up. And Bella has her CV at the ready, prepared to launch it their way.

"So, you're not going to stop hanging around us?"

"How can I possibly stop hanging around the strongest, smartest people I know? Another tile, please?"

Alice laughs, lifting up one of the twenty-by-twenty tiles as if it's made of paper. Armed with a spreader and sitting next to a bucket of freshly mixed tile adhesive, Bella slaps another lot of the sticky stuff onto the wall, allowing the girl who has the better eyesight and hand-eye co-ordination to put it up there along its brethren.

"Who else would ever help me tile up the kitchen? Jess is great, but her talents lie more towards the fine-art side of things. She's gonna swing around to help me paint my bedroom over summer." Bella'd already asked. Both Jess and Angela had tentatively accepted her invitation and Bella has zero intention of letting the two wiggle out of the agreement now. "In fact, you wanna join us?"

"Yes! I'd love to come and hang out with you! I can come up with so many ideas-"

"Only rule is the colour scheme. Yellow, browns and a little orange. I wanna be warm like sunshine. So, when I wake up after forty winks, it's gonna feel like daylight every time."

"Forty winks of sunshine, huh?" Alice muses, smile on her face and the next tile for the kitchen in her hands. "I like the sound of a hundred winks of sunshine better. There's not a lot of sunshine in Forks, so I guess making your own will work wonders."

"That's the plan." Spreading more of the tile glue onto the wall, Bella sits back on her haunches and considers the current state of the kitchen. There's the usual old bedsheets spread out across the floor to catch the mess before it hits the ground. The lino is present, rolled up into three tubes that lay against the empty carcass of a cardboard box that'd once housed the new tiles. The curtains have been stripped down (and thrown in the bin, not that Dad is aware of that yet but they were so old Bella just had to throw them out) and the cloud-covered sun is valiantly attempting to lighten the room. The rows and columns of tiles are spot on, perfectly level. Not like the previous ones that'd sloped to the left ever so slightly.

"Man, Alice, if I'd known you were so good at DIY, I'd have tried seducing you weeks ago." Her bell-like laugh chimes through the room, pale hands dusting the dirt from her skin. They're both dressed in the DIY dungarees that're shoved in the cupboard, Alice in the ones that had belonged to her mum (back when she'd been living in Forks) while Bella sports her dad's slightly more used pair. They're both a bit swamped in the fabric, each wearing one of Bella's old tee-shirts and using thin patterned scarves to hold their hair back, forties-style. Because they're independent women who don't need no man.

"Let's take a few photos," Alice declares, whipping out her phone from the front central pocket.

.

They're on the twenty-sixth photo (in which Bella is trying valiantly to lift up all three rolls of lino while Alice hefts the tile adhesive bucket as if it weighs nothing) when the door goes. Instantly, they both drop what they're doing, Bella swearing beneath her breath as roll number three thumps down on her left foot. It hurts, but luckily it caught her at a good angle. Pain, but not the blinding kind.

"Is that my clumsy daughter, I hear?"

"Yeah, Dad! It's me! Alice is here too; Hot Doc's kid!"

"I do wish you wouldn't call our best doctor that, Bells." Dad walks into the kitchen, stopping in his tracks and letting out a long, slow whistle when he spots the tiles. "Impressive. You both did this in one afternoon?"

"We sure did. Alice helps out her mum with their home decor, so I did the manual labour and she did the thinking required to get everything straight." Holding out one dust covered hand, Bella slams it against Alice's when she too offers her palm up.

"Well, er, good work, girls. Let me know if you need any more supplies, Bells."

.

The rest of the day passes by; she goes for a run that Alice joins her on, has tea with her dad once the friendly neighbourhood vampire has left, then goes to sleep in a room that will someday become something bright like sunshine.

It is as if the thought of sunshine summons it; the next day is cloudless with a clear spring sun presiding over its domain. This means that Bella trudges through school without her favourite supernaturals. It doesn't feel right. Even though she always makes time for Jess and Angela, even though she has human friends and a life outside of the vampires that coexist alongside humanity, it doesn't change the fact there's a little hole in Bella's day. No boisterous Emmett, no stunning Rosalie, no mystical Alice, no broody Edward. No warm Jasper. It's different to when she'd been in the tailspin of accepting the events of the baseball game, then it'd been a polite distance they'd given her out of respect. Now, it's enforced by the traitorous sunlight that resides above her head.

Squinting up at the sky, Bella hops out of Ol' Red, boots crunching into the authentic stone pathway leading up to the Cullen household. By the time she's collected her schoolbooks and the Cullens' missed assignments, Jasper is at the door. He's standing in the shade of the house and absolutely nothing gives away the fact the sun might very well set him alight. Then again, if she had the control of her body he did, she wouldn't be worried either.

"Cowboy!" She accompanies this bellow with a hand gun gesture, made with her only free hand. To Bella's absolute delight, Jasper slams both hands over his chest and staggers as if he has genuinely been shot. He drops to his knees, then down onto his back, one arm sprawled out and staring up at her as she gets to his side.

"Darlin', I'm fading. A single shot gone astray and I am torn from your presence. Take a good look, my dear. It's a historic moment you can tell your grandchildren about - how you watched the last of the Old South fall one night."

"That's a Gone with the Wind rip off quote if I ever heard on," Bella declares, slipping her shoes off before dropping the Cullen clan's assignments atop Jasper's chest. The stacks of paper hit him with a thump but he doesn't so much as flinch, instead smiling up at her with those knock-out dimples.

"Frankly my Darlin', I don't give a damn."

"Have you been watching films while I've been slaving away in a stuffy classroom?" Bella grumbles, offering Carlisle and Esme a wave when they poke their heads out do the dining room to greet her.

"I've spent more time in the American education system than you've been alive, Bella. Forgive me if I don't have any sympathy."

"Forgiven. If you come back with me and watch some more Disney movies. I'll even drive Ol' Red close so you don't crisp in the sun." At that, Jasper cocks an eyebrow, rising to his feet and forcing her to tilt her own head back to keep eye contact.

"We don't crisp in the sun, Darlin'."

"Well, what do you do then?"

.

* * *

.

Jasper has to drive them over to Bella's house. The girl herself is utterly useless, still dissolving into fits of giggles whenever she so much as catches sight of him from the corner of her eye, cheeks wet with mirthful tears. Every so often, she'll whisper a lowly 'disco-fever' or 'I'm feeling the funk'. Once she's whispered one of these things, the giggles slip free again. The undiluted joy is an absolute pleasure to be exposed to and, truthfully, it more than makes up for the fact she's laughing at him and his circumstances.

Pulling up on the drive, Jasper forces the hand-break on, silently bemoaning the fact Bella would undoubtedly protest if he were to buy her a newer car, a safer one. Maybe he can put the old red truck out of action? But he could never purposely do that; Bella loves this old rust bucket far too much for him to ever go through with such an action. Even if it would crumple like a cheap can in a crash, he doubts she'll part with it. Not without some heavy-handed persuasion anyway.

"Your humble abode, Darlin'," Jasper atones, circulating his hand before his chest, folding into a mock bow as best he can in the driver's seat, conscious of how close the wheel is and how very upset his company would be should he accidentally break it.

"Thanks, Disco-flairs." The passenger door is thrown open with only minimal protest, Bella clambering out with all the grace of a young puppy, all enthusiasm and little limb control. That she gets out without both breaking down into hysterics all tripping on her untied shoelaces is a miracle in and of itself. Jasper rests one arm upon the steering wheel, a smile touching his lips as he watches her. Bella straightens herself out, standing tall and brushing down flyaway hairs. It is only after she's got herself sorted that she turns back to look at him, hips shifting to a side and arms folding across her chest, the posture at odds with the warm grin on her face.

"What you smiling at, Cowboy?"

"The ridiculous human that's just made gettin' outta a truck into a pantomime."

"Oh no! There's a vampire behind you!" Bella cries, all theatrical pointing, one hand pressing over her parted lips and the fearful expression dialled up to a mock-level of ten.

"Bella."

"Oh no there's not! Oh yes there is!" She slams the door shut with the swing of a hip, continuing her one-woman re-enactment of a play that only exists within her head. Jasper watches her troop up to the front door, not yet moving from the truck where the keys are still twisted into ignition, waiting for her to realise. The silly little human pats at the pockets, brow puckering as she finds them flat or otherwise occupied only by a phone. After a moment, she swings around to frown at him, nose all scrunched up before the tongue comes out. Then, she's flipping over the little gnome on the porch, waving a second set of keys at him in triumph.

With a roll of his eyes, Jasper frees the keys from the engine, exiting the truck and making his way over to join Bella as she completes her victory dance. He knows the disco point is put in there solely for him.

"All done, Darlin'?"

"Until I see the disco in action, I'll never stop making a point." She completes her sentence with an additional disco point, near jabbing him in the skull with the action. He can't stop the chuckle when she trips over the little step to the door, catching herself on a conveniently placed cabinet in the hallway, the picture frames upon the surface rattling but not yet falling over in the wake of Earthquake via Bella. There's several of a young Bella on her own, all at different stages of her life. One of a full family photo from what has to be Bella's first Christmas (she's tiny; must have been born late in the year, he doesn't actually know her birthday, come to think of it). She's in a painfully eighties baby-grow; it's adorable. There are a few pictures of her with her father, some that have obviously come from her time living with her mother (given the background) and one with another kid, a boy from the reservation.

"Come on, Cowboy. You've seen the home videos; don't think you need to inspect the baby photos as well. Unless you're willing to share some of your own."

"Weren't many cameras around in eighteen-forty-four, Darlin'."

Bella hums, kicking off her boots and clambering up half her stairs before his words register.

"Holy shit! Eighteen-forty-four?!" she cries, spinning around on the balls of her feet. It's only because the stairs are covered in carpet that she doesn't instantly plunge down them; on Esme's oak staircase, she'd have been halfway to the bottom already with those fuzzy socks on her feet.

Slowly removing his own boots, Jasper flexes his toes in the cotton of his socks before following after Bella, stopping only when he reaches the human roadblock on the stairs. Even though she's standing two steps above the one he's on, he's still taller, if only by an inch or two now. Bella takes another step up without looking back, grinning when she has to angle her head down to look at him now, higher up by a mere inch.

"Eighteen-forty-four?" she repeats, grinning all the while. "You actually were a cowboy then!"

"Technically, the era of the cowboy is stated to have existed between eighteen-sixty-five until eighteen-eighty. I missed it by two years as I was turned in eighteen-sixty-three."

"Close enough," Bella concludes, waving the technicalities away with one hand, offering the other up to him. Jasper slots his own hand in hers, allowing the warmth of her palm to soak into his, fragile fingers tangling with his own. He lets her put the energy in on dragging him upstairs, even if she would get nowhere if he didn't want to move.

.

Soon enough, Bella has managed to hustle him into her bedroom, illuminated by the multitude of fairy-lights that bracket a massive corkboard on one wall, the setting sunlight leaking in through the single window. As Bella peels her phone from her pocket, muttering about ringing her dad to let him know Jasper was visiting, Jasper takes the open opportunity to snoop, sure that Bella would inform him if he was poking his nose in places he shouldn't be.

His eyes flicker over the corkboard, taking in the collage of pictures, all far more recent than the ones that occupy the cabinet downstairs. There's plenty of Bella with Angela and Jessica from school, trying on dresses, at a sleepover, trying out the swing in Bella's back garden. Then there's ones of a boy from the reservation; by the shape of his eyes, it's the same one from the photograph downstairs. Both he and Bella are working on her red truck in some photos, others, they're throwing snowballs at each other. Then there's photos of Bella with Alice, redecorating her kitchen, of all things. A scant few of Edward; one candid shot clearly taken undercover of Edward grimacing, captioned with a 'I smell too good; chomp, chomp' beneath it. That has Jasper's lips twisting up in a smile; the other vamprie'd probably be quite upset at that dark humour, but it's certainly appropriate.

The final group, well, that's him. Bella and him, that is. Most of the photographs are from that day in her living room where they'd spent some time pulling stupid faces after a few nice photographs for her mother. There's another that absolutely has to have been taken by one of the other Cullens from up a tree; he doesn't think Bella could climb that high and get down (he doesn't doubt her ability to climb the tree, but getting down is another matter entirely). Clearly this photograph had been snapped when he'd heard the movement of some prey; his head is tilted slightly to a side, shoulders loose and ready to run.

Using a sharpie, Bella has drawn a cowboy hat upon the picture, captioning it below with a 'yeehaw'. Utterly ridiculous.

"Alright, so dad knows you're here which means he won't shoot you on sight if we're still in my room when he gets back, and that means the bullet wont' bounce off you or whatever which means your secret is safe!" Bella leaps up onto her bed, the springs groaning in protest as she then falls into a seat-drop, bouncing twice before she loses her momentum. "Okay, so you said eighteen-sixty-three; is this you willing to tell me the sordid details or your past, or do I get to enjoy the mystery for a little longer?" Eyebrows waggling, Bella folds her legs and snatches up a pillow, half reclining back against her bed and patting the mattress beside her. Before he joins her, Jasper opens the window and turns the air freshener on, inhaling the artificial scent of oranges.

"No offence, Darlin', but it stinks in here."

"Stinks of snack?"

"Yeah, you're a terrible temptation." At that, she laughs, shoulder kneading at the pillow to her back until she's comfortable. Brown eyes with those little flickers of green watch him settle on the mattress beside her. All the while, Jasper does his best to focus on naming the different chemicals he can smell the air freshener giving off.

"Okay then, Darlin'. What would you like to know about me?"

"Everything. I want to know anything and everything." And she means it too; he can feel it in her emotions, the sincerity, the curiosity, the eagerness. The acceptance. It's in the eye contact she makes, the way her whole face brightens as he nods in agreement.

"My… upbringing, shall we say, wasn't as pleasant as that of my adopted siblings…"

.

He speaks for far longer than he planned to, going a bit more in-depth than he had planned to. Bella is a captive audience, listening without a word, responding to every key detail. He feels the sadness as he admits to fighting in the Southern Vampire wars, the sorrow as he describes what it was like to live in those conditions. There's happiness when he describes finding a friend in Peter, joy when he speaks of how he got out and went North. The amusement when he recalls his first meeting with Alice, the satisfaction as he retells his meeting with the rest of the Cullen Clan.

At some point, Bella had snatched up his wrist, twisting his forearm back and forth in an attempt to spot the numerous scars that litter his skin like a leopard wears its spots. After ten minutes of failure, Jasper takes pity on her, pulling his phone free of his pocket and turning the torch on. He ignores the cheeky text message from Emmett; he'll deal with the idiot when he gets back tonight.

"Ouch," Bella murmurs, tracing one of the ovals with her finger, a grimace on her face. Her legs are tucked under the thick duvet of her bed by this point, two thick jumpers pulled over her torso but she'd adamantly refused to allow him to close the window yet, citing that she 'didn't want to get eaten'. Then she'd has the cheek to grin at him. Silly girl that she is.

"Have you eaten yet, Darlin'?"

"Nope! I'll go make a sandwich, you pick a Disney movie off the stack and then we'll watch it until I fall asleep, as is my destiny as the weak human of our awesome friendship." With that declaration, Bella throws the covers off of her legs (and consequently over his own), grimacing at the cold, and clambers over him without so much as a 'by your leave'.

The second Bella is downstairs, Jasper closes the window, though he leaves the air freshener on. Squatting down next to the bookshelf, he inspects the array of Disney movies on offer, some familiar, some not. Judging by the greasy fingerprints that're all over 'the Emperor's New Groove', he'd guess this as a personal favourite, so that's the one he pulls out. Turning on the DVD player is no issue; Emmett's had once since they first came out; it's more than familiar to him. Even if a part of his old soul misses the simplicity of the VHS. Just watch the movie, manually rewind it and job done. There wasn't any of this selecting options from a menu.

On the other hand, the advancement of technology means videogames have come a long way from Pong. He's relatively certain Carlisle has that in the loft in some home or another.

The thunderous thumping of human feet on the stairwell heralds Bella's approach and she arrives at the doorway only a moment before the scent does.

"What is that?" He can't help but to ask; he imagines it's something like an odorous suckerpunch.

"I put some perfume on. Tell me my natural musk is no longer attracting you." Bella climbs over him again with even less grace than her exit, too busy focusing on the sandwich she has balanced in one hand to care for decorum.

"You stink, Darlin'."

"Excellent. Now, I believe I promised you an embarrassing story about me and mum rock-climbing?"

"Yeah, you did. But I promised you a palm reading before that."

A palm is shoved under his nose the second he finishes his sentence, Bella's fingers wiggling back and forth. All he can smell is the smear of butter that's been rubbed between her pointer finger and thumb, along with the minute flakes of cheese that've ended up under her nails. Taking a gentle hold of her wrist, Jasper flicks Bella's hand over so he can see the palm, eyes tracing over the lines present.

"Start with the love line; that's the one we were taking about before, right?"

"This is your love line, though it's more often known as the heartline," Jasper says softly, tracing his finger along the crease in question. He can feel the curves of flesh on each side of the line, the small indentations where smaller creases have worked their way along the main line, the callouses that have formed on Bella's palms from a little too much DIY. "You've got an upwards curve; that usually means you're good at creating a romantic atmosphere and verbalising your love. Your heartline extends to the Mouth of Jupiter; this one here-" Jasper presses his forefinger to the first knuckle of Bella's pointer finger, hidden beneath the flesh of her palm- "that indicates you've got a lot of love, big dreams and some high expectations, Darlin'."

"Huh. Not quite sure what big dreams my hands are trying to tell me about," Bella murmurs, squinting down at the palm that Jasper has yet to release. He's nowhere near finished yet, after all. "What about this little triangle over it?"

"If it's above the line, which yours is, it shows you're fickle and like butting into other people's married life as a third entity. I'll tell Carlisle to watch out."

"What! No! You're fucking with me!" Bella jabs her fingers into his ribs, or attempts to. Jasper moves enough with the motion that she doesn't fracture her fingers, but the tips will probably hurt for a few minutes.

"Don't put too much stock into it, Darlin'. These things are hardly accurate. Rosalie's got a lot of short lines crossing her heartline and that usually means you're supposed to unhappy and a failure at love, plagued by a lot of romantic bad luck."

"I'd hardly call Emmett bad luck," Bella grumbles, rolling her eyes even as she nurses the tips of her fingers in the comforts of her arm pit.

"You've not had the live with him. Now, your lifeline has a sharp curve…"

.

Bella falls asleep before Jasper completely finishes his palm reading. He has, however, moved on to the much smaller and less important lines, well aware the sound of his voice was inducing a drowsiness in her but unwilling to stop talking. The movie he'd put on has been all but ignored, only the odd phrase registering as the brightly coloured animation begins to draw to a close. He hears the police cruiser arrive on the drive, hears Charlie Swan clamber out and open up the front door. Jasper has plenty of time to decide if he will scamper off, pretending one of his siblings have collected him by car and that Bella fell asleep watching a movie.

He doesn't move.

When the chief opens Bella's bedroom door, the movie is drawing to its conclusion and Jasper has his head resting on Bella's, his eyes closed and chest moving in a slow approximation of sleeping breaths. Surprise and a wistful happiness curl off of the chief of police before the door closes again.

Jasper lays there, supporting Bella's sleeping form as he listens in on Charlie Swan ringing up Carlisle, informing his adopted father that Jasper has fallen asleep and he's welcomed to stay the night, if that's okay with Carlisle. Though Charlie cannot hear it, Jasper catches the low thrum of confusion in the elder vampire's voice; it probably won't be long until one of the Cullens are checking in. Jasper's not too bothered about that in the slightest.

He waits until Charlie has showered and gone to bed himself before he slips out from under Bella, making sure to tuck her in. He removed the plate a sandwich had once rested on from where the girl has tipped both it and the crumbs upon it on herself. Then, he takes one of Bella's pillows, grabs the ugly throw that Bella has already got a picture of him huddled under, and sets himself up on the thick floor rug. He doesn't sleep, it's not something vampires are capable of. Just another element of humanity that the venom has erased from him. It doesn't matter.

Laying there, Jasper allows his mind to wander as he waits for the morning to come.

* * *

 **Pretty sure this chapter is, like, 20% Bella-Alice bonding time and 80% Jasper fluff. It's exactly what I'd want to read and I hope you would too.**

 **There's a poll up regarding this fic, vote because I'm curious of your opinions, pretty please?**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Two months have passed since Bella woke up and tripped over the Jasper log some fool of a lumberjack had laid upon her floor. The first wisps of summer are upon them now; Bella can smell it in the air, can feel it on the skin of her exposed forearms as she's wearing a short-sleeved shirt now that the temperature has been forcibly dragged up to an acceptable level. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and everything is absolutely beautiful.

"Bella, you're burning."

"Huh? Oh, guess I am. Hold my books while I look for some suncream?"

Jessica hums, accepting Bella's stupidly big pile of books. Digging deep into the depths of her backpack, Bella emerges triumphantly with a small bottle, waving it excitedly before Jessica.

"We live in Forks. Rainy, rainy Forks. Why are you even carrying suncream?"

"Because fortune favours the prepared, Jess!" Flipping back the cap, Bella squirts an ample amount onto the tips of her fingers before she begins slapping it all over her face. It's been a long while since she had to apply suncream, the last time it'd been a common a morning routine; back in Phoenix, it'd been a necessity to avoid burning like a forgotten piece of toast. She bets the Cullen Clan don't have to worry about burning. Just spontaneous disco parties.

"Any exciting plans tonight?"

"Oh, I'm going to meet up with Jasper when he gets back from camping."

"Urgh, what is up with you two? You're like, the worst kind of best friends because you should definitely be a couple. Trust me, I know."

"Jasper and I are the very best of friends, Jess. We're like bacon and eggs; we just make sense together. And while the idea of wrapping my legs around his shoulders is pleasing, I just…" Bella trails, rubbing at the bridge of her nose to ensure the suncream is correctly applied, all the while unsure how to finish that sentence. The thought of doing sexy things with Jasper has crossed her mind (many, many times), but she's never considered a relationship. Because she's reborn, she has far too much life experience to be with someone her own age and she's not an adult yet, so she hasn't been able to look elsewhere, other than a few dates for fun. Only, there are five vampires who appear to be her age but have that second life (and probably a third and fourth lifetime work of experience). True two of them are in a relationship with each other… but Edward, Alice and Jasper aren't.

"You just what?" Jessica asks, digging her elbow into Bella's side, a smug little grin on her face, eyebrows waggling.

"I just never considered it," Bella confesses, swiping one last bit of suncream over the tops of her cheeks, rubbing it in quick and hard. She's managed three years without semi-permanent red cheeks, she'll be damned if she burns after moving up north.

"Never- you've never considered Jasper Hale as your boyfriend? Never?!" Jessica hisses, true confusion on her face. She's right though. Bella has never once considered Jasper Hale as boyfriend material. He'd been her arm-candy to the dance, he'd been pleasing on the eye. But Jasper Hale is nothing more than a poor illusion of humanity.

Jasper Whitlock, on the other hand, is a being as out of place as she is, if not more so. Or maybe less so, given there're others, given he's one of many. She's never met another person that's been born again, that remembers their previous life. Jasper though… he's got that lifetime of experience she'd never actually expected to find in another person.

Huh.

"Not until a moment ago," Bella states, accepting the pile of books back, tucking them neatly between her arms and chin. "Thanks for the talk, Jess, see you later!" And she takes off, scampering across the car park to Ol' Red. She does take a moment to suspiciously eye the new tires (Dad had said about replacing them in summer so she's pretty sure it wasn't him that changed them, but change they have) before clambering into the cab. She's getting the evil eye from Jessica for escaping gossip time, especially when they've hit upon a topic her prospector **-** like friend could mine deeper on.

Blowing her a kiss, Bella forced Ol' Red to splutter to life and takes off.

.

"Oi! Cowboy!" Bella bellows, slamming the truck door shut with the swing of a hip. Her arms are full of assignments, fly away hairs sticking slick with the sun-cream on her forehead. She's relatively sure a bit is in her eye; it stings but in that odd kind of way that you can power on with it. Eh, her tears will wash it out eventually.

Adjusting the books in her hands, Bella straightens as Jasper opens the door, dressed down in a simple tee and worn pair of jeans. Even then, he looks ridiculously handsome, like Apollo trying to walk among the mortals. Behind him, Rosalie saunters by with a look of disdain on her face. Yeah, there's no way that she could compare Jasper to a deity when the other blonde is nearby, looking like Aphrodite in the flesh.

"Bella. You're dressed for a hike?"

"We're going hiking, I've made an executive decision. Seeing as you missed the board meeting, and the casual chat over lunch break where we muttered about how certain people can get their comeuppance for missing out on the history test, you get no say in this." Plus, she's very, very excited to go trampling around in the woods with the biggest-bad there is watching over her shoulder. Absolutely no need to worry about any kind of carnivorous wildlife if it means they'll turn tail and run at the sight/scent of vampire Jasper. Plus, the idea of watching her friend tackle a grizzly bear is doing funny things to her insides. From the puckering of Jasper's eyebrows, he's very much aware of her flipping stomach but without context, there's nothing he can do.

So, Bella smiles like it's all sunshine and roses, striding over to thrust the stupid number of reference books she's collected for the Cullen's essay assignments into his chest.

"I got you some books for the essays; essays we are writing together, by the way because my first life of English-awesome always fails to aid me with American History, funnily enough." Does she still have some English-heritage bias? Maybe so. It's such a shame she lost the accent growing up; Americans are supposed to find that particular dialect attractive, aren't they?

"And why do you think I'd be any help, Darlin'?"

Is she envious that Jasper manages to balance all those books on one hand, leaving the other free to begin putting on his boots? Yes, yes, she is. It's also really quite strange because the pile of books is almost as large as her torso and he makes it look so effortless.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you've been through the American education system before? Or because you lived through a good chunk of America's time-line according to the white man?" Hey, she's Jake's friend, she has to acknowledge the dirty her ancestors have done in order to strive to never repeat those mistakes. To try and make amends for them.

Whatever else she's going to say disappears from her thoughts, for Jasper's managed to hand off the books to Edward and has stepped out onto the porch. It's like some god has taken all the of the stars in the sky and rammed them all under his skin, leaving them sparkling and twinkling and drawing a human like a bee to honey. It's not her fault; sparkly usually means water in the natural world; it's a human instinct engraved throughout centuries of survival. Bella steps closer to Jasper, taking his hand and lifting it, twisting the limb back and forth to watch the sun bounce off in so many different ways. The shade her hand creates leaves a dark imprint over his skin where the sparkles disappear in the absence of light, nothing but pale marble remaining.

"Disco fever," Bella whispers under her breath, linking her fingers between the spaces of Jasper's own, nails scraping back and forth over the knuckles. She can't feel the indents of bite marks, even if she knows they're there; Jasper told her himself. Her human senses are only good enough to spot her own prey, not to find the flaws in her predator's form.

The lightshow is still wicked cool.

"Disco fever hike through the forest!" Bella declares, putting all her weight behind a violent tug that ultimately gets her nowhere, Jasper rooted to the spot and watching her with blatant amusement in his gaze. Edward and now Alice are both standing in the hallway, watching her fruitlessly try to lure Jasper further out into the open. It's to the point where she's no longer supporting her own weight, pulling hard on Jasper's arm with her legs straight and heels digging in to Esme's grass (sorry yummy vampire mummy). Still no move. "Cowboooyy!" Bella wiggles herself in an attempt to do the same to Jasper's arm he's a rock, unmoved in the face of her whine and cute little pout. Damn it. "Pretty please?"

"All you had to do was ask, Darlin'." And just like that they're in motion. Bella throws their adjoined hands up into the air in a shameless victory pump, twisting to look at Alice and Edward as they cross the clearing. "If dad rings, tell him we're out hiking and that there's no forest hanky-panky happening because Cowboy's too much of a gentleman to do the dirty with me!"

Edward groans, hiding his face in one hand as Alice laughs, high and delighted, like a fairy taking flight. Bella waves goodbye to the duo, squawking as she trips over a rock. Jasper catches her, swinging her back up onto her feet and around so she's forced to face the right way and is no long walking backwards.

"You're a damn hazard to yourself, Darlin'."

"And don't you forget it!"

.

They walk for a half hour, filtering in and out of the sunlight, all dependent on the amount of shadow the trees offer. Bella's backpack, filled to the top with human snacks and two water bottles, bounces against her hips as they move, hiking boots digging into the soft earth beneath her feet. After her third near fall, Jasper'd taken her hand again and not let go this time, saving her from three move falls with little effort on his part. She's sporty, but that's on flat ground. It's anyone's ballgame when they're on uneven ground like this. A single tree root is all that's needed to put her out of commission. As it is, she's got the world's best defence against human clumsiness; a vampire with a vested interest in her not breaking her neck.

"Come on then, Cowboy. How often do you just go for a walk in these here woods, instead of heading out to lasso your prey?"

"I promise you, Darlin', there ain't no lassoing involved."

"Oh, but there could be, couldn't you?"

Jasper smirks but doesn't continue that line of conversation, instead returning to her original question. "We don't really go for walks. A lot of vampires, if they do not fine a fixation, an interest, usually find themselves in a state of motionlessness. For humans, you are constantly moving, your lungs contracting, heart beating. We don't experience that." Bella hums, swinging their arms back and forth, the back of her neck warm under the sun's golden light-

"Ah, shit! I forgot my neck!" Shimmying the backpack from her shoulders, Bella swiftly begins rooting through the array of contents to locate that treasured little bottle, ignoring Jasper's amused huff. He's probably rolling his eyes, the irritating 'I don't burn, just sparkle' bastard. She'll keep him as her best friend, but he's on thin ice. Alice is an attracting alternative… but, alas, she told Jasper her deepest, darkest secret first. Looks like they're stuck together.

Squirting a huge dollop of the white stuff (heeheehee) onto her palm, Bella slaps it onto the back of her neck, furiously rubbing her fingers back and forth. She's done the whole red-peely-owie skin thing before, she doesn't want to do it again. Too many of her clothes have a high-ish collar that'd rub her neck raw if it were burnt. That'd suck. As she finishes the final few circles on her neck, Bella chances a glance to Jasper, taking note of the bemused smile on his lips. She squirts another dollop into her hands, but smears it across the vampire's cheek this time, a delighted little laugh escapes her lips over the fact he'd actually allowed her to do that. Even though Jasper's pale, the suncream is still that awful off-white on him too, resting in a large swipe mark on his cheekbone. If it'd been whipped cream, she might have offered to lick it off. Suncream, however, is about as icky as you can get. She rubs it into his cheek instead.

It's not fair how damn smooth his skin is, it's really not.

"Only gonna sort one cheek, Darlin'?"

At that, Bella huffs, shoving the bottle into her jacket pocket, bag already having been swung up onto her shoulder and she's just too lazy to bother opening it back up again. Once again she begins eating up the distance between herself and their unset destination, fingers running along the trunk of the nearest tree, feeling the roughness of the bark biting at her flesh. "Well, it's not like you-"

"Bella?"

Bella doesn't answer, body in an awkward half-twist as she keeps looking at Jasper, frozen in midstep. Because the sun's coming in, but only half his face is sparkling. Suncream cheek is normal. Suncream cheek is normal and not sparkling and the sun is kissing up on those cheekbones like every other thing with a mind of its own would like to do.

"Hand, hand, gimme gimme!" Holding out her own palm, Bella snatches up the bottle of suncream (wonder fluid) with the other, emptying what could probably be half the bottle's contents in the next second, all over Jasper's hand. She doesn't care, dropping the bottle to better work the stuff into his skin, getting ugly smear marks on the sleeves of his jumper that she knows Alice will kill her for later. But that doesn't matter because-

"Aye-oh! You're not sparkling!" Gesturing wildly towards Jasper's frozen arm, Bella finally looses her balance, falling into the trunk she'd stopped by because it seems that has just shut down. He's staring at his arm uncomprehendingly, golden eyes wide and lips parted. He's shocked, she can feel the waves of it slamming up against her insides, a crashing force that proves he's utterly lost. Bella reaches out and takes his hand, drawing it closer and turning it back and forth. You can see the point where she's stopped rubbing the suncream in; his forearm sparkles, his wrist is just… normal.

"No more unnecessary disco fever," Bella concludes, lacing their fingers together as Jasper finally gathers his wits and reboots, a disbelieving laugh leaving his lips.

The next thing Bella knows, she's got Jasper's arms planted on either side of her hips and she's in the air, getting spun around at a speed that makes her incredibly dizzy and just a little sick.

"Jasper! Jasper down! Nasty human fluid incoming!" She can feel it in the back of her throat the more her eyes try and fail to figure out the blurs of colour she knows have to be shapes. Jasper puts her down just in time for Bella to upchuck a little stomach acid; luckily, it's not a full out throw-up. Still, far from an attractive move in front of her most attractive friend/potential romantic partner.

It's also 'round about the time things start clicking in her head because, hello, suncream isn't a recent invention. Not to her, at least.

"Hang on a second, have you never tried to put suncream on? Knowing it blocks damage from the sun?" Well, for humans it does and clearly there's something in the sun's rays that moves vampires into glitter-town. "Wait, have you ever actually tried to figure out why you sparkle?"

From the expression Jasper wears, the answer is blatantly obvious before he speaks.

"It's not something I've ever heard to be experimented with."

"You're, you're joking, right? I mean, good god! I can't believe you've all had this problem, your entire race has had this problem for centuries, maybe longer than a millennium even, and not once have you ever thought to figure out why you sparkle!" Bella laughs and it's a wild, free thing, filled with shocked amusement that evolves into genuine humour. It is only after another few moments of chuckles, of throaty giggles, that Bella manages to reel herself in and continue her train of thought. "Not one of you has ever tried to figure out how to stop it? You've all just, just accepted that it's the be all and end all?" She just can't wrap her head around it. Whenever she has a problem, she doesn't work out a way around it. Not unless she's exhausted all options of solving the problem in the first place. And she's never had a problem so blatant as a 'I can't go outside in the sunlight'; surely that kind of issue would be a pressing problem, one to be solved as soon as vampirically possible?

Bella laughs again, shaking her head in sheer disbelief, even as she plucks up the near empty bottle from the ground. Unscrewing the cap, finger circling the inner rim, Bella runs the last of the cream across the rest of Jasper's face, rubbing it in, watching the sparkles slowly fade. Without the glaring brightness, he looks even more attractive in the sunlight, golden eyes set ablaze, a shimmering halo of light reflecting off his half-curls.

And, under the sun, still with thick streaks of suncream visible on half of his non-sparky face, Jasper smiles at her.

It's like a sucker punch, a hit from a heavyweight champion and she's only in the lightweight's class; she's knocked right off her feet, breath driven from her lungs.

"Darlin'?"

Looking up at him, Bella finds her lips slowly lifting at the corners, her heart clenching and flipping far too fast for her present company but she just can't stop it.

"Hey, can I kiss you?" Asking because A, consent is important, and B, she doesn't want to throw Jasper into a feeding frenzy, or some such thing. That'd really kill the mood right here.

Jasper's still staring at her, dimples still present in the flesh of his cheeks, smile still on his lips. Bella steps closer and he doesn't move away, just continues to smile at her. It's only when she puts one hand to his shoulder, rises to her tiptoes, that he moves. His lips are hard against hers, no give whatsoever, no matter how gently he cradles the small of her back with his other hand. It's quick and soft (emotionally, not physically because it's like kissing a living statue) and it leaves Bella's head spinning because Jasper smells so good. But god-

"Urgh, sun-cream!"

.

* * *

.

Watching Bella try to scrape the taste of chemicals from her tongue in the middle of the forest, Jasper turns both of his hands back and forth, one sparkling, one still. Just like it should be if there were no sun. He's not sparkling, he's not so painfully inhuman beneath the spring sunshine and it's all because Bella had teasingly smeared some suncream across his cheek. Suncream; it's ridiculous. Not once has he ever considered what he could do about the sun and the way it so blatantly exposes them for what they are. He's just accepted it. Accepted he has to hide, has to go without. He's never once wondered if there's a way to fix things. How utterly imbecilic.

He licks at his lips, allows the venom to destroy the chemical residue that resides there, wiping the liquid free with the sleeve of his jumper. He still ends up with some of it smeared on the fabric (Alice'll kill him for it unless she'd actually passed him this jumper on the way out for this exact reason), but it's off his lips.

So, when he steps forwards, takes a careful hold of Bella's chin to look her in the eyes, he feels no worry at all as he asks, "can I kiss you now, Darlin'?"

Bella's pupils are wide, the green-freckled brown of her irises still visible but noticeably thinner to his senses. Her heart is pounding away, blood pooling beneath her cheeks and though he feels the venom gather in the back of his mouth, Jasper pushes it away, reaches for that wonder he's just uncovered instead. He can go out in the sunlight now, they can go out in the sunlight now, so long as they get a cream that'll stay on them for a while. He nestles that sensation close to his breastbone, lets it fill his every pore as he continues to stare at Bella.

"You can definitely kiss me any time you like. I've always had a thing for the Wild West."

He laughs, keeping it soft and trapped in the one exhale that ghosts across Bella's skin. Her head is tilted right back to keep looking him in the eyes, his angled down and their noses so close the tips brush. She smells so good but he could never dream of drinking from her, not now. Not this magically little thing that's given some of the world back to him.

He puts every ounce of control he has into the brush of lips against lips, does his best to meld his own against Bella's, to follow the push and pull of her muscles, to allow as much give as he can under the pressure she tries to exert. She's so breakable, so warm compared to him. Her heart is hammering, eyelashes fluttering with nerves. The slightest pressure against his scalp as she threads her fingers through his hair, tangling in his curls, contrasts against the tight clench her other hand creates in the fabric of his jumper.

Bella pulls back slightly, glancing up at him and grinning, teeth scraping against her redredred lips (perhaps he'd put a little too much pressure into that kiss?).

"Hey, can I kiss you anytime I want?"

"I think you'd only reach my jaw unless you let me know," Jasper muses. Bella takes it as a challenge, leaping up at him until they're in a reverse piggyback, her lips planting an obnoxiously loud smacking kiss against his cheek and he hooks one arm around her back to keep her from falling.

"You'll just have to anticipate me then!" she declares, sliding back off him, fingers threading between his again and, this time, Jasper curls his own around her infinitely smaller, infinitely more delicate hand.

Anticipate her sudden affections is something he'll never have an issue looking out for. He doesn't doubt she'll continue to surprise him. Especially now that they could explore Fork in the sunlight together now.

"Guess I will then, Darlin'. Suppose I'm the only one who's got a chance at that."

"Yup," Bella agree, popping the 'p', "a human wouldn't be able to keep up with me and you're my emotional support vampire now. If you wanna be, that is."

"That your way of asking me to be your boyfriend?" He won't deny that the idea is pleasant. While the implications of an other-half that is human terrifies him, the chance to experience this swell of happiness all the time, to inspire this kind of happiness in Bella with just his presence and actions, is beyond appealing.

"We're too old to be boyfriend and girlfriend. We'll be a classic couple, like Scarlett and Rhett, or Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock." At the last one, Jasper laughs, shaking his head in sheer disbelief.

"Sounds good to me, Darlin'. Sounds good to me."

* * *

 **Aye-oh! Here we go! Onto New Moon time next! Hi-ho Silver! (I'm in good spirits right now, even if every other aspect of life is a hard mess I'm fighting to get on top of. But I will manage! Enjoy!)**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

" _I present to you, Disco-no-more!"_

Standing beside him, Bella had gestured with straight arms, fingers spread wide. Her grin had been wide, her genuine pleasure and eagerness to offer her solution to a problem that was thousands-of-years old had been nowhere near enough to drown out the overwash of shock from the rest of them.

Even now, a week on from that date, Jasper still thinks of the day life improved with an overwhelming fondness that he cradles beneath his breastbone. And today, today is the first sunny school day that he has ever been present for. The suncream's scent is almost overwhelmingly strong, but the way Bella's whole face lights up as she spots him makes it more than worth it.

"Cowboy!" She comes bouncing over, teeth flashing white against her rosy skin, a half-dissolved mint rattling about against her molars. Jasper opens his arms to catch her, bookbag hitting the floor but near forgotten in the face of the human hurricane that sweeps into his hold. He can hear the other humans whispering, the handful who have yet to see the evidence that one of the Cullen Clan is dating clearly disbelieving, the ones who have seen it exhibiting the shock that it remains true.

Still, Jasper closes his arms around Bella, drawing her into his chest, basking in the warmth her human form radiates, the sun kissing at the top of her head illuminating the little flyaway hairs that halo her head. He spins them once, sweeping Bella carefully off of her feet before gently placing her back down in time for her head finish nuzzling against her torso.

"Good morning, Darlin'."

"You smell of suncream." Yes, he doesn't need reminding of that but if even Bella can smell it, he's probably put a little too much on. Regardless, it's best to have more than not enough in this case.

"Thank you, Bella."

Bella startles, her mouth popping open as Rosalie flounces off after her very curt, very quick thank you. Jasper knows exactly what it's for; Rose has a piece of her life back, the ability to walk in the sun. He knows that as soon as she and Emmett marry (he's not sure if this will be the twelfth or thirteenth wedding and he doesn't truly care to ask), they'll be going somewhere sunny for the honeymoon. Maybe even several sunny somewheres.

"Did she just-"

"Yeah, Darlin'. Best not to bring it up again though." Making any progress with Rose is difficult; it's probably best to not force more human time on her then is needed, no matter how much Jasper wishes for his 'twin' to like Bella. She will at some point, he knows it. It'll take time though. And speaking of time-

"We have a whole summer holiday approaching; do you have any plans?"

At his question, Bella links her arm through his, firing a warm smile up at him, all doe-eyes and white teeth.

"I've got plans; do you want the decent ones, or the one's not safe for school?"

Behind the both of them, Edward chokes, increasing his pace to power past them into school and away. Jasper watches him leave, feeling the wash of embarrassment and appal he leaves in his wake. Huh. Part of him wonders what exactly is spinning about in Bella's head, another part of him doesn't want to know. Not yet.

Humans are so incredibly fragile.

"Let's save the more indecent ones for a time when you won't get thrown in detention for voicing them, Darlin'."

"We're in cahoots now, Cowboy," Bella reminds him, bumping her hip against his and near toppling herself over, "it'd be the calaboose for both of us." She's right; he wouldn't leave her to it, if only because he'd spend the afternoon waiting around for her anyway.

"On more important matter than your dirty thoughts, Bella, will you do me the honour of accompanying me to the end of year dance?"

"Without question; gotta make sure the ladies of Forks understand you're taken."

He laughs, shaking his head as they come to a halt by her classroom, Edward already inside and unfalteringly not looking in their direction. Jasper doesn't admit that he's thoroughly taken, that Bella's a bright spot in his life that he doesn't wish to do without, but he's not far off. Even if they figure out that they're not mean to be romantic partners, he could never withstand the loss of their friendship. Not now that he's experienced the hope she emanates.

"Mmm, I'll work on staying out of detention if you offer to fill the time with me this afternoon instead."

"Done deal, Darlin'."

Bella grins, linking her hands around his neck and pressing up on her tip-toes. She's still not quite able to reach his lips and Jasper doesn't make it easier for her, refusing to lower his head. Just to see what she'll do. Kisses are peppered along the edge of his jaw, down the column of his neck, before Bella mockingly imitates a bite with just the pressure of her lips alone. It's such a stark contrast to the last time someone tried to bite him there that Jasper can only laugh, disbelieving and hopelessly amused. He plants a kiss to the tip of her nose, forehead against hers.

"See you at lunch."

.

School is a bore, the only break in the monotone of non-too-quiet whispers is the bright glimpse of joy that is lunch with Bella. It makes him wish they had come to this town one year later than they had; then both he and Bella would be in the same year group. Regardless, he presses on throughout the day, right up until the bell is done. Normally, he'd stick around and ask some history related questions, a way of prepping the humans in his interest to attend college. Jasper can't quite care for that now though; he can visit a multitude of campuses over the great length of his lifespan; Bella is here and now and that's his priority at the moment.

He's down the corridor and waiting outside the door to her classroom just as the rest begin to pour out. Several children twist to look at him, girls whispering and giggling; Bella's friend Jessica pouts, gently elbowing the one human he's remotely interested in. Bella lifts her head from her notebook and grins, hastily shoving it into her bag as she comes bouncing over to him.

"Hey, Darlin'. How does a trip out for the weekend sound?" He's been thinking about it during history, plotting all the different places he could take her, then narrowing it down to places that Chief Swan would allow him to take her. There'd a great stretch of American land open to them now that he can walk under the sun and Jasper is eager to get back out there, to explore as he hasn't been able to. It goes without question that he'll bring Bella along with him.

"Oh! Road trip! I'll need to get snacks and pack a few things and check with Dad, but I'm sure he won't mind. I'm trustworthy, after all." Here, Bella grins, tucking her hands beneath her grin to peer up at him from beneath her lashes. Jasper holds out his hand to her and Bella's quick to snatch it up, swinging their joined limbs back and forth, a spring in her step as she walks beside him. He takes a moment to ensure her things won't spill out her bag by zipping it closed, then returns his focus to their conversation.

"So, did you have somewhere in mind, Cowboy? Are we gonna ride off into the sunset, wrangle some cattle, oh, oh! How about barrel racing?"

"Darlin', I don't have a hope of getting a horse to come close to me, nevermind actually riding one."

"Aww."

"Pack for a weekend away and a four-hour car ride, if that's acceptable to you, Darlin'."

.

* * *

.

Bella Swan has a stomach that is currently occupied by a thousand and one butterflies. It's ridiculous and her veins are full of bubbly champagne and oh, what a time to be alive and dating a vampire. She'd stumbled out of her house at too-early-O'clock in the morning, allowing an unfairly attractive Jasper to heft her luggage into the boot of what can only be the family Volvo. He's a good boy who doesn't mention that it takes her three attempts to get a grip on the handle of the door and open it up and, though he feels bad for it, Bella's conked out in the passenger seat for the vast majority of the journey.

She's not sure if it's the universe working in mysterious ways or if it's Jasper who used his gift to nudge her into alertness as the right moment; all she knows if that they're in a parking lot for a McDonalds and that greasy, greasy breakfast is calling her name right now. That her boyfriend (her vampire boyfriend who is far too good looking for his own good; yes, she's seen the eyes that followed him as he came back to the car) has returned with the food in question only cements it; she's hella lucky and Bella is gonna bask in it for as long as she possibly can.

"Sausage sandwich, ketchup and orange juice. Curtesy of Alice's instructions."

"She's an angel and I need to make her something cute," Bella murmurs, peeling back the paper wrappings to begin chowing down. The feeling of guilt that usually comes when she's eating and her companion is not is absent; only the bubbly butterflies remain; they keep fluttering around in her gut whenever she so much as catches a glimpse of Jasper. But, ah, he's so pretty and thoughtful and he's all hers in his sparkly glory. Whenever he's not got his suncream on that is.

Taking another bite of her breakfast, Bella scans their surroundings, waving at a trio of teens who're flat out staring at them. She's impressed they're even up at- Bella pauses, chancing a glance at the inbuilt clock on the dashboard. Yeah, she's impressed they're up, dressed and out in public at eight o'clock in the morning. God knows she's rather impressed with herself, vampire chauffeur notwithstanding.

"So, where are we, Cowboy? This sure doesn't look like a ranch. Or a castle à la Dracula."

Jasper smiles, all Michelangelo's David in bone structure and Orest Kiprensky in his intense stare. He's so lovely.

"We're not too far from Washington Park, Portland. The location of the International Rose Test Garden."

"Ooh! Sounds romantic," Bella chirps, brushing the debris of breakfast from her lap, making an attempt to catch the crumbs in her other hand to launch out the window 'cause a pigeon's gotta eat too. Once her good deed to nature is complete, Bella turns to look at Jasper, waiting for him to start the engine. Only, he's looking at her instead of out the windscreen, a soft smile touching at the edge of his lips and, all of a sudden, Bella is absolutely desperate for Edward's gift. Man, what she couldn't give to crack this man's head open and have a look inside. And then piece it carefully back together with all the reverence kintsugi is treated with. Though gluing Jasper back together with gold would probably lessen his attractiveness instead of enhance it. Or would it? She doesn't doubt he could make it work; that's just how he is. Her ridiculously attractive vampire boyfriend whose stares make her stomach flip like a new gymnastic recruit (it keeps falling hard; it's gotta be a new recruit because these performances are far from smooth).

"Ah, Darlin', what I wouldn't give to know what's going through your head."

"It's mainly how pretty you are; how good you'd look with some gold on you is the key thought right now."

Jasper laughs and she could listen to that sound for days, years even. His eyes sparkle as he looks over to her again, not turning his head completely so his lashes frame those golden irises.

"Do you not need to go relieve your basic human needs, or shall I set off?" Oh. Now that he mentions it-

"Man, I have gotta pee. I'll be right back!" Bella scrambles for the door, shoving it open and clambering out after remembering to remove her seatbelt. Her legs ache from standing all of a sudden, her back all but whining with relief as she stretches it out, arms up and over her head. She closes the door, adjusts the collar of her shirt and makes for the McDonalds. The orange juice and been deliciously refreshing; she'll take two more after using the restrooms.

.

The rose garden is an amazing array of colours. Families and couples meander past, more than a few staring at Jasper and Bella cannot blame them. It looks more like he's here for a photoshoot, even with his smart-casual clothing. If they weren't holding hands and if she had a bigger camera with her, then perhaps they'd assume Bella's the photographer. But no, they are holding hands, her fingers interlaced with his, flesh to stone. He's so deliciously cold in what is shaping up to be a relatively warm late spring,

Bouncing over to a simple brick fountain, Bella stares into the innards, stares at the simple clay tiles that lay beneath the clear water. She sits down on the ledge, pulling Jasper down next to her and then she digs for the camera.

"Smile, Cowboy!"

Twisting the device around, she snaps a quick picture, then another one once she's resting her head against Jasper's shoulder. A third one follows when she feels his arm come to rest around her waist, his cheek pressing to the crown of her skull. Her hair's not yet hot to the touch given the morning sunshine hasn't yet had the time to warm up but it's only a matter of time now.

"Do you want me to take some photos now?"

Bella hands the camera over without hesitation, leaning back on her hands as Jasper removes himself from her side, doing her best to smile prettily (it'll have nothing on Alice or Rosalie and certainly nothing on Yummy-Vampire-Mummy but Bella knows she's a pretty human and she'll sure as hell work with what she's got). Jasper snaps a photo and Bella slides her hands a bit further back, dipping them into the coolness of the fountain's water, the liquid kissing up against her sweaty palms. There's the snap of the camera and Bella does her best to spring forwards, flicking the water she's gathered up in Jasper's direction. He jumps back a little too quickly but no one's really watching them.

Unbothered by her failure, Bella scoops up more water into her palms, bag abandoned by the fountain. Most of it dribbles through her fingers but the little she does manage to collect in her palms flies well and, this time, Jasper lets it hit him.

"Ha ha!" she cries, triumphant as the splatters cover his chest and she had but a second to bask in her glory before Jasper's putting the camera down and making his way over to the fountain himself.

Bella shrieks, snatching up the device and taking off, ducking through the people as her heart pounds. A water fight in the rose gardens had sounded liked a good idea in her head, but now she's weighing in Jasper's superhuman abilities against human hands and their ability to carry water and she's not liking her chances anymore. Perhaps she should have waited to start a water fight until she'd managed to get Jasper in the company of her human friends, then she could have monopolised his awesomeness on her team to defeat them all… Oh well.

She manages to get three pictures of in pursuit Jasper before he catches up to her and she gets a faceful of fountain water. And even then, it's only because she had no qualms about carefully darting through the rosebuds while Jasper, good Southern Gentleman that he is, went around.

It's a great date, even if half the other visitors give them the stink eye for the rest of their time there.

.

* * *

.

"Come along, Cowboy! Exercise waits for no man nor vamp!"

When he'd planned this outing, Jasper can honestly say he'd not expected Bella to be utterly dead set on completing her daily jog. He'd thought she'd have the weekend off. Well, she does live to surpass his expectations, it would seem.

Bella jogs on the spot, the movements overexaggerated and her knees reaching higher than is necessary. Her outfit is utterly ridiculous too; jogging bottoms and a thin shirt designed for exercising is her standard gear. The luminous sweatbands that wrap around her wrist and head, the matching leg-warmers? That's only there for the visual impact. While part of him considers the possibility that she's wearing these now because they're out of town and no one she knows will see her and judge her, Jasper quickly discards the thought. No, it's far more likely that it's new gear she's bought recently and she'll be quick to begin parading it around in Forks upon their return.

Bella peels her phone from the pocket of her trousers, flicking through the options as Jasper makes his way to the bathroom. He let Alice pack most of his clothes so he doesn't doubt there'll be tasteful workout gear included within his luggage somewhere, it's just a case of finding it and putting it on.

By the time he arrives back in the main room, Bella's happily chatting away with her father, twisting a lock of hair back and forth around one of her fingers. Upon seeing him, she breaks out into the brightest grin, the one she reserves for him alone he's coming to realise.

"I owe Alice, like, so many presents," she muses, cutting off her father's questions on her day so far and plans for the rest of it. And yes, he knows exactly what Bella's referring to; sweatbands are not normally part of his everyday-wear (he never normally bothers with the sports stuff either, having no need for it given his unnatural nature). Alice, little menace that she is, clearly believes otherwise.

"Bella, just please tell me you're going jogging while the sun is up and that you're taking Jasper with you."

"Of course, I'm taking Jasper with me; he's six foot something and can be intimidating as hell. Ain't no one gonna try anything when I've got him by my side. Even if by some hellish miracle someone does get by him, I've got Ol' Sparky with me too."

"That's- that's good, Bells. But just remember about unlawful usage."

"I'll make sure she doesn't have to use it, Sir," Jasper cuts in before Bella can formulate an answer, loud enough that the Chief can hear him

"Right. Thank you, Jasper. And Bella…" There's a cough on the other side of the line and Jasper just knows that this is about to get awkward, knows without having to be in the room with the man; he can taste the awkward undertones already. "-just remember, you're not eighteen yet-"

"Don't climb Jasper like a tree, got it," Bella cuts in, pulling the edge of her headband and allowing it to twang back into position, "got it. I'll ring you in morning. Bye Dad!" She hangs up before Chief Swan can get a word in edgeways and that's probably for the best. Jasper doesn't try to hide the smirk as Bella pockets her phone, giving a slow wiggle of his brows as Bella takes all of him in again. He can't look her in the face when she licks her lips.

"Come on then, Darlin'. Let's get that blood of yours pumping."

"Would that be like soft core porn for you?"

He chokes a little, even as he basks in the teasing, light aura that comes with Bella's words. Were any of the Cullens around to have heard that, he'd probably be a bit more embarrassed than what he is currently. As it is, he just takes Bella's hand, runs his forefinger over her pulse-point just long enough for her to question, and then pulls her out the door.

.

Soon enough, they're going at a pace too quick for Bella to both breathe and chatter. There's quiet between them but it's far from uncomfortable. Nothing but the steady footfalls of their feet and Bella's progressively louder breaths; Jasper does his best to match them, though he does keep his own slower, less raspy. He is, after all, frozen in peak physical condition. It would be odd if he couldn't handle physical challenges between than Bella, though having to pay attention so he remained within human limitations was important too.

It's only as they're entering their second half hour of the run that Jasper registers the eyes. When he snaps his gaze to the side, he finds another vampire watching him from the shadowed shelter of an apartment block, their full red eyes very wide indeed. He can't blame them; he's out in the sunshine and clearly not sparkling. Hell, it's probably more distracting than the fact he's in human company. There are an array of decisions laid out before him now and every one of them discomforts him in some way or another. If he goes over to speak to them now, then it will leave Bella in the middle of the street, utterly defenceless if this vampire is not travelling alone. On the other hand, he could approach the vampire in question, but that would expose Bella to the other.

He rakes his eyes over the man's form, taking in the flawless skin, the confused burgundy eyes. He's not a fighter, not like Jasper. He can sense the twinge of unease that melts of the other, can sense the hesitation to approach based on his appearance alone. It's easy to forget, what with the way the Cullens have grown used to his scars, with the way Bella oh so rarely sees. He wears the attacks of his deceased enemies like medals, like trophies that he has been gifted and has no way to hide.

"What'cha staring at?" Bella whispers, her words a harsh rasp between two large, gulping breathes.

"Another vampire. He's probably wondering why I'm not sparkling."

"And not why you've got a tasty snack by your side? For shame. Let's go speak to him; I'm all for sharing!"

Clearly Bella doesn't realise that allowing their kind the information on how to walk among their prey in the day will lead to more killings. It sits uncomfortable in Jasper's stomach as it is. But this is their nature. There are other options, true and, with any luck, Jasper will be able to prove humans are worth respecting, what with the fact it was a human who had discovered the solution to their age old problem. He can only hope, anyway.

Threading his fingers through Bella's, Jasper sucks in an unnecessary breath and makes for the other.

* * *

 **I figured out how I can do New Moon now. so, er, here you go!**

 **T** **sume  
** **xxx**


End file.
